KFP 3 The Bandit Lord
by FFcrazy15
Summary: An old friend-turned-enemy of Po's sends a message offering a rematch from a long-ago fight. Takes place directly after KFP 2. NOT related to the EOTD series! This is set in short-chapter, movie-style format.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

A/N: What? A way to get out of writing Family Matters? Shoo, no, that's just… uh… heh… okay, you caught me. But hey, what can I say? This has been bugging me soooo much, and I just have to get it out of my system.

On with the story!

_**Paper-cutout style dream, Po's voice as Narrator**_

_ 'The Dragon Warrior was a legend among legends. He was so great that even the Furious Five would call him a Master, an equal. He alone knew the Secret of the Dragon Scroll, and had found Peace within himself. Never before had such a warrior been seen, and all of China bowed to him as a great master._

_ 'But of all the enemies he had faced, one still remained undefeated.' The shadow of a large cat appeared on the ground. 'This warrior was powerful, and the match had been long ago.'_

_ Po stepped up to the warrior, both of them silhouetted black against the yellow sun._

_ 'The Dragon Warrior wanted a rematch. He was sure the outcome would be his victory.'_

_ The two silhouettes began to fight._

_ 'But he had underestimated his opponent.'_

_ Suddenly, the cat picked Po up, spun him, and threw him into the ground, pinning him there by stabbing the Sword of Heroes through his cloak and into the dirt._

_ 'Defeated, the Dragon Warrior could not stand. All he could do was helplessly watch as his friends left him for the new warrior of awesomeness!'_

_ "Guys!" Po said, as the Furious Five walked up to him. "Aw, thank goodness you're here! Hey, could you help me up!"_

_ "Sorry, Po," Viper said, slithering over to the opponent._

_ "We're ditching you for him," said Monkey._

_ "Yeah, man, he's waaaay cooler," Mantis agreed. They both walked over, followed by Crane._

_ "Bye, Po," Tigress said, walking past. As she walked up to the other warrior, she put her arm around the cat and winked in a very un-Tigress-like manner at Po._

_ The six of them all turned simultaneously and began to walk away._

_ "No. No," Po said, untying his cloak, pushing himself off the ground and running after them. But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't catch up with them. "Guys! Come on! Guys, wait! WAIT!"_

"WAIT!"

He sat straight up in bed, drenched with a cold sweat and breathing very heavily. He heard the doors slam open from the other occupants of the barracks, and then his door opened as the Furious Five poured in.

"What the- what are you guys all doing in here?" he said, confused.

"You screamed," Viper said. "We thought maybe someone had attacked you."

"Po, is something wrong?" Tigress asked.

"What? No, no, just a- a crazy dream, that's all."

"Man, you've got to stop eating two bowls of rice before you go to bed," Mantis said, shaking his head.

"Sorry to wake you guys up. You can go back to bed if you want."

Four of the five of them nodded and left, but Tigress stayed behind. "Po? Are you sure nothing's wrong?" she said, looking him dead in the eyes.

He glanced away. "Naw, it's fine. Just a wacko dream, that's all."

She raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing him. "About?"

"Uh, just this kid I used to know. It was really weird." He fake-yawned. "You can go back, Tigress. I wanna go back to sleep."

She gave him a skeptical look, but left anyway. He watched her go, and then fell back on his bed with an "Ugh."

Had Master Oogway been there, he would have probably been told to examine the dream for signs of the future, but since the elderly turtle had been assumed into the Heavens, he received no such instruction and simply returned to sleep. Little did he know how soon his dream would begin to mirror reality.

**A/N: Yeah, I know, it's short, but I'm tired and want to go to bed. Just so you know, whereas the EOTD series was basically my wishful thinking of what I hoped would happen in KFP 3-5, this is going to be a lot more like what I think Dreamworks will end up doing.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

**Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop, Next Morning**

"Yes, and that'd be twelve-fifty, thank you, thank you," the old goose said, taking the coins that the customer handed him.

"Po's defeat of Lord Shen was tremendous," the stooped, elderly sow said, her voice shaking slightly with age. "You must be so proud."

"Yes, yes, very proud," said Mr. Ping, smiling happily. He glanced over the old woman's shoulder and said, "Speak of the devil. Po, my boy, you're here!"

"Hey, Dad!" Po said, grinning and holding up a crate of carrots. "Your delivery just came in; I told the guy I'd give it to you."

"Good, good! Come help me make the soup; the morning crowd is about to come in."

Po hurried to the back of the kitchen and quickly started to boil some water in the pot for the soup, yawning.

"You're so tired," Mr. Ping noted, sounding worried. "Did you get enough sleep?"

"Huh? Oh, I just had a crazy dream last night. I couldn't get back to sleep after it, so…"

"A crazy dream?" said his father, now even more worried.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, something always seems to happen after one of your crazy dreams or visions." The goose picked up a cucumber and started to chop it.

"What? Aw, come on, that's so not true!"

Mr. Ping stopped dicing the vegetable and put his wings on his hips. "No? You have some crazy Kung-Fu dream, and then you become the Dragon Warrior! You see a memory of your mother, and you save China!" He counted them off on his feathers. "You dream that living vegetables are coming after you for revenge, and the next day you trip over a carrot and fall into my cabbage supply!"

"Hey, that one doesn't count!"

"Well, as the saying goes, 'When one dreams with his heart and acts with his head, everything's sweet. But when he dreams with his head and acts with his heart, things become much too bitter.'" He started to slice the cucumber once more. "So, what was this crazy dream about?"

"Uh… You remember that kid that used to live with us? Kailí?" **(A/N: Triumphant Strength.)**

There was a silence for a moment, as his dad stopped chopping again, and then Mr. Ping said softly, "Yes, I remember him very well."

"Well, he kind of… like, fought me or whatever, and then he won, and the Five totally ditched me." He put the noodles in the soup. "It was totally nutso. I mean, they weren't like themselves at all in the dream. You should have seen the look on Tigress' face-"

"Po, I need you to get me some more firewood," Mr. Ping interrupted hurriedly.

"Uh, okay, sure." He walked out the back door of the kitchen to get some wood.

Mr. Ping sighed and went over to the fire. "Oh, my poor boy," he said to himself.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Ping?"

He turned around, surprised. Master Tigress was standing in the doorway.

"Oh, no, Master Tigress," he said, bowing. "I was simply talking to myself, like old people do."

She gave him a small smile. "Not that old yet."

"Well, thank you. Now, what may I help you with? Do you want something to eat?"

"Not today, but thank you. I actually came for Po; he has a letter waiting for him at the Jade Palace."

He sighed again. "So I was right."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, nothing. I'll get Po right away." He quickly went out the back door.

Po was bending over to gather up as much firewood as he could carry in his arms. "Po, you have a visitor!" his dad said.

"Huh? Who?"

"Master Tigress."

Po dropped the wood, which made it of course land on his feet. "Ow! Ouch ouch ouch!"

"Impressive," said Tigress. She'd followed Mr. Ping out, and had seen the whole thing.

Po turned around, surprised. "Oh. Hey, Tigress." He started to pick the wood back up. "Is something up?"

"Yes. You have a letter waiting for you at the palace."

"A letter? Really? From who?" he asked, looking somewhat excited.

"We don't know. Master Shifu didn't think it prudent to open it without you there."

"Oh, okay." He looked at his father. "Dad, I've got to go."

"I know," the old goose said, looking sad. "But please, keep yourself safer this time…"

"What are you- Dad, come on, we don't even know if it's good or bad news yet!"

"Call it a father's intuition." He wrapped his wings around his son and said, "Keep safe."

"Okay, okay!" he said, laughing. "Dad, chill out!" He pulled away, grinned, and followed Tigress.

Mr. Ping sighed and watched him go. He turned back to the noodles, and saw that the fire had gone out. They hadn't even had time to warm up before they'd gone cold again.

**A/N: Okay, so incase you haven't noticed, these are very short. This is because I'm doing each one like a specific 'scene' from a movie (like when you go to 'scene selection on a DVD and choose which one you want). Lo ciento, amigos (I'm sorry, friends), but that's the way it's going to be. *sheepish grin* Hope you like!**


	3. Scene Three

Scene 3

Disclaimer: I OWN EVERYTHING! Jk. I don't own Kung Fu Panda, and I make no money off of it. I do own a pillow pet named Po (don't laugh! I got it for Christmas!). Also, I got the info on the Altai Mountains from http :/ /en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Altai_Mountains

**Jade Palace, Same Day**

Tigress bounded up to the top of the steps. She waited a moment, then, glancing down and rolling her eyes, dragged the huffing panda to his feet.

"Ugh… thanks, Tigress," Po said. "Do those stairs ever get easier, or is it just me?"

"Just you."

"Good, you're back," Shifu said, rushing forward. The other four were behind him. "This arrived from you. Apparently another messenger caught Zeng en route and gave it to him to deliver."

"Where's it from?" the panda asked, breaking the seal.

"The paper is of the northern Chinese make; I'd suspect that it comes from somewhere in that direction, perhaps from the A'er Tái Shun Mái Mountains." **(A/N: Sorry that the accents are off. This is the Chinese name for the Altai Mountains. It's pronounced 'Ah err ty shun my').**

"Uh…" Po said, obviously having no clue where that was.

"The mountains in the north, past the Gobi desert." Shifu gave him a disapproving look. "Didn't you read that map I gave you?"

"Well, you see, I was kinda-"

"Spare me the excuses," Shifu said, slightly annoyed but seemingly resigned to the fact that the panda did not and would never actually do his 'homework.' He handed Po the letter.

The panda opened it eagerly. After a moment, his face changed slightly. None of the other masters could quite describe the expression, other than that it was definitely a strange one to see on the panda.

"What does it say?" Shifu asked.

Po let his arm drop to the side. "Oh, it's just this guy I used to know. We, uh, we got in a fight one day, and I lost. Now that I'm the Dragon Warrior, he's offering a rematch or something."

"What's his name?"

"Káilí. Why?"

Everyone's mouth dropped. "Káilí the Bandit Lord?" Crane said.

"Uh… Yeah, I guess."

"You knew him?" asked Viper.

"Yep. He lived a few houses over from us. This old couple adopted him, but when they died, he stayed a few weeks with us until he, you know, found a better offer."

"No one's seen the Bandit Lord for almost twenty years," Monkey said. "He runs a huge thief empire in the A'er Tái Shun Mái Mountains. They don't mess with the Valley of Peace much, since they know we're here, but they bother a lot of villages on the edges of the desert up there."

"So… What should I do?"

Shifu thought for a moment, resting slightly on Oogway's staff. "It would likely be very dangerous. I have no doubt that the Bandit Lord would not play fair; I assume that he'd send some of his men after you to catch and kill you before you even had time to fight."

"So I should refuse?" Po said.

"That would be the wisest thing to do, yes. However, this may be our one and only chance to get rid of the Bandit Lord." He thought some more, and then said, "While it would be safest to deny the offer, I believe that it is your duty to accept."

"Okay," Po said. "So, when do I leave?"

"When do _we_ leave," Monkey corrected.

"Yeah, man, we're going with you!" Mantis said.

Po tried to brush it off. "Guys, come on, it's just one little challenge-"

"A challenge from the Bandit Lord himself," Tigress interrupted. "And one that, without help, you are unlikely to even get to."

"But-"

"We're a team, and teams don't let a member go on their own," said Viper.

"We can't let you do it by yourself," Crane agreed.

"We're coming with," Tigress said firmly.

Po looked around at all of them, surprised. Then, he grinned. "You guys are the best!"

"You will leave tomorrow morning at sunrise," Shifu said. "The journey should only take you a week or so."

"Cool," the panda said happily. "So does this mean I can go back to the shop and help my dad for the rest of the day?"

Shifu nodded. "Go ahead."

"Sweet! Thanks, Master Shifu!" he ran off in the direction of the Thousand Steps.

"Five," Crane said.

"Four," followed Viper.

"Three," Monkey said.

"Two," Mantis chuckled.

"One," said Tigress, and, right on cue, they heard the loud 'THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!' that came from the panda's girth as it hit each stair on the way down.

**Yep. Short. I know. Lo siento.**


	4. Chapter 4 The Ironwoods

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

**That Night**

It wasn't often that Po had to leave the barracks to get his midnight snack. Usually, he'd just take some small snack (or his idea of small, anyway) from the kitchen, and then he'd go back to his room.

Tonight, however, was different. Tonight, he really, really wanted a peach from the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. He didn't know why; he knew it wasn't going to make him any less hungry than he was right now, and besides, he'd rather sneak an almond cookie than a peach any day of the week. But for whatever reason, he wanted a peach, and by all that was Kung Fu, he was going to have one. **(A/N: That is now my favorite self-made quote. Oh dear, did that sound vain? Sorry).**

As he snuck outside the barracks and began to walk down the path to the tree (which led from the barracks, through the Ironwood Forest, and to Peach Tree Hill), he noticed a lone figure standing among the Ironwoods.

"Tigress?" he said once he was close enough.

She glanced over at him, not surprised (she'd heard him coming). "Po. What are you doing up?"

"Um… Heh, well-"

"The Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom is that way," she said, pointing up the hill (she knew what he wanted). "It's foggy tonight, so watch your step." She turned away again and went back to contemplating the trees.

Instead of leaving (he was mysteriously no longer hungry), he said, "So. What'cha doing?"

She gave him a look that clearly said, _what do you think I'm doing?_ When he still looked like he didn't get it, she said, "I came out here to think."

"Oh! Okay, I can leave."

"No, it's fine. You may stay." She was silent for a moment, before she reached out and touched the tree, saying, "I can't tell you how many times I've come out here. I know these trees better than the back of my own paw."

Po reached out and touched it, too. It was rock-hard. "So you actually used to punch these things?"

"Yes. One hour a day for twenty years. Master Shifu said I could stop exactly one week before you were chosen as the Dragon Warrior."

"And now you really can't feel anything?"

"In my knuckles? No. I can feel the pressure of a hit in my wrist, but the joints are completely numb." She examined her paw, and then, with an ear-splitting "HEIS!", she struck the tree.

It looked like it really hurt, but Tigress didn't make a sound. After a moment, she pulled away. Her paw was unchanged.

"Whoa." Po said. "So… you didn't even feel that? Like, at all?"

"No. I know I hit the tree- I can feel it in my wrist- but my paw is numb."

"You can't even feel this?" He gently tapped her paw with his fingers.

She shook her head. "I can see and hear you do it, but not feel it. My other senses make up for it, so it's not a drawback in battle, but sometimes it's still very strange."

"Wow." There wasn't much else he could think of to say. After a moment, he tentatively asked, "So what were you thinking about?"

Tigress didn't answer for a long, long time, so long that he began to wonder if she'd heard him. Right when he was about to ask again, she said, "Po, have you ever been afraid?"

He blinked, startled by the question. "Uh… yeah, plenty of times. I thought I was totally going to die when I was fighting Tai Lung-"

"No, I don't mean for your life. I mean, have you ever been afraid by what you might or might not do? Have you been afraid of your own actions?"

"What, you mean going insane? Like Tai Lung did?"

"Maybe. Or maybe fear of not being good enough, of not being able to do what must be done."

"I'm still not getting it."

She looked as if she was still struggling to explain it to him. "Let me ask you this way: who's our leader?"

"Um… Master Shifu?"

"Him aside. When we're on a mission, who do you think is the leader?"

He was surprised by her question. "Well, you, duh. Who else would be?"

"Actually, it's you. For all political purposes, the Dragon Warrior is a position above the Furious Five, and therefore, you are our master and leader."

His mouth dropped open. "What the- Tigress, come on! You're way better at the whole leadership thing. I'm terrible at it! I couldn't make someone to do something if I tried!"

"I'm not saying that you could. You're the _technical_ leader; in all honesty, you're right, I'm the one who's usually in charge of the missions." She examined the tree in front of her again, as if it held some great secret. "But I've been thinking lately… perhaps _you_ should be the leader."

"What the- Tigress, I just told you, I suck at that kind of stuff!"

"Don't sell yourself short. You can't be any worse than me."

He stared at her. "Alright, what's going on? Spill the beans! Why are you so down, huh?"

She was silent for a moment, before she said softly, "Go back to bed, Po."

"But-"

"Go back to bed." Her voice was harsh and clipped. He took a step back in surprised.

"I- Yeah, okay. Just… take care of yourself, alright?"

She didn't answer. After a moment or two, he walked away, leaving her alone amidst the Ironwoods.

She eyed the tree for a moment, and then, without making a single sound, began to attack.

**A/N: Hm… Kind of short, but whatever.**

**BTW, I'm accepting story challenges for 'KFP Oneshots.' Please PM me if you have a good idea (please note that I will likely not be doing **_**all**_** of the ideas sent to me).**


	5. Scene 5 Káilí's Story

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

**To: ghgh**- Oh dear. I thought that people would have learned from Loquista's example. Apparently brains just aren't made like they used to be. Well, if you insist…

First off, yes, she actually _does_ feel nothing in her paws. To quote her own words from KFP 2, "I used to punch the Ironwood trees near the Palace to train. Now, I feel nothing."– Tigress, Kung Fu Panda 2.

Secondly, you are correct, the Ironwood trees (scientific name: Mesua Ferra) are an actual species of tree (the Mesua Ferra is the only species of Ironwood to grow in China. The majority of them grow in Central and South America, as well as a few in Japan). My apologies for the misinformation, and I will change that, but you ought to be a little more polite. Really, didn't your mummy teach you to have good manners? My advice is to garner a bit more common sense, not to mention attending some lessons in etiquette. Next time, you might just come across someone not so nice (aka, a hacker that could track you down through your computer's code number, find that computer, get your address, and kill you in your sleep. And yes, it's very possible.)

Thirdly, if you don't like the author's notes, then don't read the story. Actually, you should write some of your own instead of just leaving annoying comments. Did you know that there is currently a 0 beside your name on the author listings? And the only thing you have on your profile is "Blah." Really, are you just on this site because you have nothing better to do with your life? Does your entire existence really constitute of leaving downright stupid and/or pointless messages to try and degrade hardworking, normal people? If so, then by all that is good in this world, man/woman, get a job! Make something of yourself! In my humble opinion, there is nothing more annoying in this world than an person who willingly chooses to be incompetent or inept.

Fourthly, I would politely warn you to not attempt this sort of message again, as I quickly lose patience with those who a.) Don't their own homework before criticizing someone about not doing theirs (for Heaven's sake, watch the movie next time!), and b.) Haven't got the guts to sign their own name. Thank you, and have a wonderful day!

**To: Shouvin- **yes, this will be Ti/Po. I just love how that sounds, don't you? Like Tae Bo. Anyway, about what they're going to do in the movies, I'm as clueless as you are. I think they will, considering that they're following the usual couple pattern (hate, acquaintances, friends, best friends, and a couple), but hey, Dreamworks is Dreamworks. They could make Po turn into a flying fish if they wanted to.

**The Next Morning**

GOOOOOONG!  
>WHAM!<p>

The other four masters winced as they heard the usual thud of the panda's heavy girth smacking the wooden floor. Viper shook her head with a sigh, and Monkey whispered, "He's never going to get up on time, is he?"

Tigress let the tiniest grin slip out from behind her heavily walled exterior. "I don't think he's ever going to be on time for _anything_. Excluding dinner, of course."

"Ow. Just stab me in the heart, why don't you?" Po joked, coming out of the room.

"Sorry," she hastily said. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Tigress _never_ apologized.

"What? Oh, yeah, it's fine," Po said, looking just as startled.

There was an uncomfortable silence, before Tigress said, "Is everyone ready?"

A variety of "Yes's" and "Yeah's" returned.

"Then let's leave." She turned and walked out the barrack door.

Everyone looked at each other. "What's up with her?" Mantis wondered.

"I don't know," Po said. "She stayed out really late last night training; maybe she's just tired."

"Yeah. Maybe," Monkey said, his tone doubtful.

They traveled for a long time, nearly the entire day. By the time the sun was setting- around seven-o-clock p.m., they were completely out of the Valley of Peace.

The air seemed very tense when they finally stopped; it had been that way all day. Tigress had said nothing. Not that this in itself was so strange- she usually didn't talk much- but she would usually say _something_.

As they laid out their bedrolls and Po started a fire to cook the noodles, she suddenly said, "Po. What do you know about Káilí?"

"Huh? What do I- know– about-" he paused for a moment, and then said, "Oh, I get it. You want more info?"

"That's kind of why she asked," Monkey agreed.

He went a little red at that. "Okay, okay! Um… well, he really liked Kung Fu, like me. He's the about the same age us- I'm not really sure how old he is exactly, since he's an orphan and all. He wasn't at an orphanage or anything, though; he kind of got left on the old couple's doorstep, like Tai Lung was, you know?"

"What does he look like? How do we recognize him?" Viper asked.

"Huh? Oh, that's easy. He'll be the only tiger there, 'sides from you, Tigress."

"He's a tiger?" she said, surprised.

He nodded. "Yep. Probably why he's the Bandit Lord and all. Nobody messes with a tiger." He lightly punched Tigress on the shoulder. "See? Right there. If I wasn't so dumb, I wouldn't have done that."

"Please. I wasn't going to hurt you. And don't call yourself dumb."

"Hey, I'm just saying-"

"Well, don't 'just say,'" she interrupted sternly. Everyone looked at her, startled. "If you call yourself an idiot, then you're going to turn into one. Understood?"

"Uh, yeah. I get it."

"Good." She went back to unrolling Monkey's bedroll (she, Mantis, and Crane hadn't brought them, Mantis and Crane for obvious reasons, and her because she felt she didn't need one).

When supper was finally ready, Po passed out spoons (where they'd come from, no one bothered to ask), and they all ate it straight from the pot. "Good," Mantis said, through a mouthful of soup.

"Very," Tigress said, before taking another spoonful. Po grinned at the compliment.

The pot was empty before long, and soon, everyone was asleep. But two were not having such sweet dreams…

_"Káilí- Káilí, stop, why are you-" WHAM!_

_ "That's it, boy! Keep on hitting 'im!"_

_ "Káilí! Stop! STOP! Please!" WHAM! THUD!_

_ "C'mon!" the laughing bandits called. "Hit 'im harder! Make the little fatso cry!"_

_ THWACK!  
>"Káilí," Po whimpered, looking up at the tiger. "I- I thought-"<em>

_ "Go on, kid! Finish him off!"_

_ "Please! Please, Káilí, don't hit me no more!"_

_ "Knock him out!"_

_ Káilí glanced back at the bandits, unsure. "But-"_

_ "C'mon, kid! Don't you wanna come with us? Don't you wanna learn Kung Fu? Just show us how strong you are, and we'll take you with us!"_

_ That was enough to do it. Káilí raised his fist. Just as it was about to swing down, Po looked up and whispered, "I- I thought you were my friend…"_

_ WHAM!_

Po sat up, shaking. Beside him, Tigress did the same, breathing heavily. After a few moments of relief from their different nightmares, Tigress asked, "Bad dream?"

"Yeah. You?"

She nodded. There was a long pause, before she said, "It was about Káilí, wasn't it?"

His silence was enough to confirm it. "Po. What's really wrong?"

He hesitated, and then said, "Look, it's nothing, okay?"

"But-"

"It doesn't matter. Go back to sleep."

"Po." She put a paw on his shoulder. "I'm your friend. You can tell me anything."

He sighed, and, after looking around to make sure that the others were all still asleep, said, "Look… Káilí didn't just live in my house for a few weeks. We were, like, best friends." He grinned slightly, obviously remembering one of the happier memories. "We did everything together. He was a total Kung Fu nut, just like me. Thing was, he was, you know, more in-shape than me, but that never mattered. We both _loved_ Kung Fu, and so long as we were buddies, everything was cool.

"But then, one day, these bandits came. You probably don't remember it, but you and Viper and Master Shifu fought them off, all by yourselves. Káilí and I watched you guys do it; it was totally awesome!" He struck a Kung Fu pose. "But some bandits decided to hang around afterwards until you guys left, to get out without having to mess with you. We were just going back to my house when they saw us and started to mess with us. 'Course, Káilí was all brave about it- 'Don't you try anything or I'll show you some of my Kung Fu'-" he mimicked, "And believe it or not, the bandits started laughing. I guess they thought he was kind of cute or something, because they said, 'Looks like the kid wants to be a master. Well, we know Kung Fu, too, kiddo!' So Káilí was all 'Wow, really?' and they said, 'Yep. And if you beat up your buddy here, we'll take you with us!'"

He fell quiet for a moment. "I- I never thought he'd actually do something like that… I mean, we were best friends! And he totally wailed on me! Just so he could learn Kung Fu." He looked away. "What could I do? I was the pudgy little panda kid, and he was the big strong tiger kid. I never even had a chance."

There was a long silence after that. After a while, Tigress said, "Po… I'm so sorry…"

"Aw, don't be. It's not like it was your fault or anything. Besides, this isn't about me; this is about making sure China's okay, right?"

Tigress blinked; when had Po started sounding like a warrior?

"Just… don't tell any of the others, okay? I don't want them going all 'poor Po' on me when they found out about my dad. Like I said, it's not about me, and we've got bigger stuff to worry about."

She nodded, trying to hide her admiration. Maybe Po wasn't the strongest warrior physically, but like her, his heart was always glued to the task.

"So, what was your dream about?"

She blinked, surprised. "My dream?"

"Yeah. You had a bad dream too, right?"

"Yes."

"So what was it?"

She hesitated for the tiniest fraction of a second, before saying nonchalantly, "Oh, that? I don't remember; it's gone now."

He frowned slightly. He didn't believe her, but if it was too personal for her to share, then he wasn't going to push her. "Uh, yeah. Okay. Well… we should probably get back to bed, then."

"Yes, of course."

He was about to lie back down when she suddenly threw her arms around him, holding him very tight. He noticed that her breath was quick and uneven, and her heart was pounding, like one's did right after a battle.

She gasped slightly and drew back. "My apologies, Po, I don't know what came over me."

"Yeah, it's fine, don't worry," he said, startled. "Um- good night."

"Yes. Good night." She lay back down, and he did the same.

He didn't know how long it was before he fell asleep again, but he was fairly certain that Tigress had stayed awake long into the night, her scarlet eyes scanning the woods around them for any sign of danger.


	6. Scene 6 Be the Best

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

A/N: Picture the parts where they're traveling across the desert in the same sort of musical bit like in KFP 2 when they're going to Gongmen City. Actually, I think there're a few shots in there of them in the Gobi Desert and the Altai Mountains, but let's ignore that, shall we?

Also, I read this one 'saint of the day' thing I have on my computer, and about a week ago it was St. Jerome. I love that guy! Apparently he was a genius with a really, _really_ short temper who wrote these withering, derogatory letters to anyone who disagreed with him. I gotta say, maybe I AM a little harsh with people on here sometimes, but it's only the people who a.) Are only on here to leave annoying messages and don't actually write fanfiction, b.) Don't have the decency to use correct grammar, punctuation, or decent language, and c.) Give criticism in a manner that is neither constructive nor encouraging. Really, if someone were to give me a polite message saying that, per say, Tigress was OOC, I'd probably be mad for about a minute before I got over my pride and started trying to fix it (because the readers are generally less biased to the nature of a character than an author). However, a message with cursing, derogatory language, or just an obvious attempt to annoy the author is unacceptable. Long story short, I'm just happy to know that even the saints got crap thrown at them, and not all of them were very nice about their responses, either. : )

**Next Day (and a number of those afterwards)**

They were off and running before the sun even rose. Tigress pushed them like a drill sergeant; whatever had been up with her the previous night had evidently been taken care of, because she was as demanding as usual with the rest of the five, Po especially.

The next three days passed in something of a blur of traveling, eating, and sleeping (the main three priorities of all present). It wasn't until the fourth day that they finally reached the Gobi desert.

It was probably the weirdest sight Po had ever seen: green, green rolling hills cut off suddenly by high sand dunes. "Whoa," he said.

"Let's go," said Tigress, walking forward.

"Wait, what? We're crossing that _now? _Won't we, you know, die of thirst or something?" Po asked.

"No. There's a well-used path through the desert that follows one of the runoff rivers from the A'er Tai Shan Mai Mountains. It's well used by thieves from the Bandit Lord, though; we'll have to be careful."

And careful they were. A week later, the six warriors found themselves at the base of the A'er Tai Shun Mai Mountains.* There hadn't been much trouble: a few thieves and even a pig that looked a little, _ahem_, three sheets in the wind, had been their only problems.

When they reached the foot of the A'er Tai Shan Mai Mountains, they were met with a spectacular sight. The snow-covered peaks rose high above the plains of the Gobi Desert (grassy now, since they were so near the mountains), brilliant white and so tall that it seemed they scraped the sky.

"The mountains will be rough; we're lucky that we received the letter now in the spring than in the fall or winter," Viper reasoned.

They looked at the mountains for another moment.

"So. What now?" Mantis finally asked.

"We find the Bandit Lord," answered Tigress, and walked past them without a second thought.

Po glanced at Monkey. "Does she _ever_ stop doing that?"

"No," Tigress called back. "Now hurry up; we've got a lot of ground to cover."

Everything passed pretty well from that point; they traveled all morning and afternoon. It wasn't until later that night that they met their first real bit of trouble.

A group of bandits, maybe fifteen strong, was traveling along the same path. Crane spotted them at least a mile away, but there was nowhere they could go to avoid them, aside from the woods around.

"Get into the trees," Tigress ordered. "We're going to ambush them."

"Aw come on, Tigress; we can take them head-on!" Po said enthusiastically.

That was the wrong thing to say, and everyone but the panda knew it. Tigress stopped short and turned around. There was a hard, harsh look in her eyes that made the panda take a few steps back.

"Don't _ever_ predict the outcome of a fight," she said, in a low, dangerous voice. "Your opponent may be ten times better than you for all you know, and assuming that you'll win could be fatal. Understood?"

He nodded, deciding it would be smart to keep his mouth shut.

"Good. Now: _get in the trees_."

They all quickly obeyed. Within a few minutes, the team of bandits passed in front of them.

"And… go!" Tigress whispered.

They all jumped out, and the fight was on.

Viper wrapped herself around one of the wolf's necks, strangling him, before grabbing his fist with her tail and using it to punch another in the face. Beside her, Monkey quickly grabbed a large fallen branch from the ground and used it as a staff, quickly bringing down his opponent with a number of swift strikes.

Crane dove in and out, swooping down to rescue one of the others or claw at the eyes of an enemy. Mantis, on the other hand, stayed on the ground, picking up thieves hundreds of times his own weight and flipping them hard onto the ground.

Tigress, the most skilled of the six, was fighting three different opponents at once. She back-fisted a wolf in the muzzle, before grabbing him and throwing him over her shoulder into the next opponent, a boar. She grabbed the third by the ears and brought his head down right into her kneecap, smashing his nose.

Po knocked one out by a hit to the temple, before grabbing the opponent and swinging it into another. He let out a whoop before something hit him in the back.

He hit the ground, _hard_. He managed to roll to his side before a wolf pinned him to the ground.

The wolf raised one clawed paw high into the air.

"Who would have thought," the bandit chuckled, "That I'd be the one to kill the mighty Dragon Warrior." He brought the claw down-

And suddenly, he was gone, his place completely absent but for an orange streak that knocked him away.

Tigress roundhouse-kicked the wolf in the head, and then pinned him to the ground, knocking him out cold with a punch straight between the eyes.

Po hurriedly got up and looked around. "Any more?" he asked his friends.

"No. We took care of the rest," Viper answered.

"I- yeah, okay." He nodded, and then turned to Tigress, who was right behind him. "Um, thanks, Tigress."

"No trouble. Just be more careful next time." She patted him on the shoulder, but there was a strange look in her eyes. He couldn't quite figure out what it was before she was back to normal. "Alright, let's tie them up keep moving."

They followed her order without a single grumble. They quickly tied the wolves and boars up, then put them along the side of the road where someone would undoubtedly find them and, quite possibly, take them to the nearest village's leader. After that, they continued on their way.

**That Night**

_The claws came slashing down-_

_ And again._

_ And again._

_ And again!_

_ Never hitting him, the memory played itself over and over and over and over and over-_

Po shot up in his bedroll, and then sighed. Well. There was no way he was getting back to sleep after _that._

Grumbling, he stood up and walked away from the little clearing where the group had pitched camp and into the forest.

"Idiot," he chastised himself. "How could I be so stupid? I can't let that kind of stuff happen anymore. I mean, if a wolf bandit can get the better of me…" Scowling fiercely, he turned the nearest tree and began talking to it, pretending it was the bandit.

"You wanna mess with me? You wanna mess with me, buddy? Well, get ready to feel the thundah!" He punched the tree as hard as he could.

"OW!" He cradled his hand and pressed it to his mouth, sucking slightly on the hurt fingers. "That hurt…" he mumbled.

"Not your brightest move."

He stopped short and looked up. Tigress was sitting on one of the branches. "Oh. Hi. I was just-"

"Training again?"

He blinked, confused, and then remembered the boat on the way to Gongmen city. "Uh, yeah! Training."

"Care to explain what's wrong?"

"Wrong?" he said, pretending he didn't understand. "What's wrong? Why should something be wrong?"

"Well for one, you didn't notice me," she pointed out. "And for another, you usually only beat up wood when something's bothering you."

"Hey, wait, that's _so _not true!"

She raised an eyebrow, and then began to count off on her claws. "A mast, a tree, a Wooden Warrior that nearly killed you-"

"Okay, okay! I get it." He looked at the ground, and then said, "I guess I'm just kind of mad about the fight today."

"You mean the bandit that pinned you." It wasn't a question.

He nodded. "I just… I shouldn't have been that careless, y'know?"

"Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes in fights."

"Yeah, but I'm the _Dragon Warrior_," he insisted. "I'm not supposed to make mistakes."

"I see." She didn't say anything for a moment, and then said, "You have fallen into the Warrior's Conundrum."

"The what?"

She jumped down from the tree, landing right in front of him, though she wasn't looking at him. "It's a very simple principle, one that Master Oogway came up with. It's something every master deals with from the moment they set foot in a training arena: the internal pressure to be the best."

"I'm still not getting it," he said.

"We all want to be the best there is; it's a survival instinct. We think that if we're the best, then no one can hurt us." She shook her head. "It doesn't work that way at all, though. There's always someone better than us out there, and eventually, we all have to realize that." She glanced at him. "For me, that was when you defeated Tai Lung."

"Okay… I think I understand…" He was quiet for a few seconds, and then said, "So everyone deals with it? Even you?"

"Every day. Sometimes, it's still painful, to think that you were chosen as the Dragon Warrior."

"I still don't get it," he agreed. "I mean, you're a way better fighter than me, and you would deserve the scroll a lot more than me."

"I don't think that's how it works," she answered. "It took me a long time to figure this out, but… I think that the honor of being the Dragon Warrior was never supposed to be given to the person who deserved it the most. I think it was for the one who _needed_ it the most."

This surprised him. "You mean… it wasn't just some crazy accident? That I fell in front of you?"

"Master Oogway used to have a saying: 'there are no accidents.'" Tigress smiled slightly. "I may have deserved the title, but you were the one who needed all that came with it. A title is only honorary; that's something that I never grasped. Not until you came, anyway. And I think that, as much as there was a reason that you were chosen as Dragon Warrior, there was also a reason that I _wasn't_: so that I could learn that lesson."

"Can I ask you something?" he said. "Something kind of personal?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "I suppose…"

"Why do you want to be the best? I mean, it sure seems more than a survival instinct with you."

She was quiet for a long, long time; so long he almost thought he should leave. Just when he was about to, she said, "It isn't about being the best so much as it is about being… useful."

"Huh?"

She seemed very hesitant to tell him. "When Master Shifu took me from Bao Gu… I vowed to myself that never again would anyone ever look at me with fear. That I'd be their protector, not someone they'd tell stories to their children about to make them behave. I promised that I would become the greatest warrior they'd ever seen, and the epitome of that was to be the Dragon Warrior."

"Oh," he said, feeling guilty for bringing up such a touchy topic. "I'm really sorry-"

"Don't be. That was over twenty years ago; it's long gone. But it's the same general concept: we all want to be the best."

"I think I get it…" he said slowly. "But how am I supposed to get rid of this 'Warrior's Eardrum,' or whatever it's called."

"It's the 'Warrior's Conundrum.' And you can't get rid of it; You have to live with it not give into it. The more you fight it, the easier it gets. Just keep telling yourself that you don't have to be the best to be worthwhile."

"Is that what you tell yourself?"

She hesitated, and then nodded slightly. "So long as I can accept the fact that I'm not the best, I think I'll be able to live with it."

He thought about this for a moment. "Y'know what? I feel a lot better now. Thanks, Tigress."

"No problem, Po. Have a good night."

"Yeah. Later." He grinned and left. She watched him go, and then jumped back into the air, landing on the branch. She sat down on it again, silent as a shadow, and watched the moon trace its way across the glittering midnight sky.

***Just so you know, this story isn't technically correct: It would take an average tiger just under two months to run across the Gobi desert, going 12 hours a day at top speed (approx.: 56 kph). But hey, KFP is fictitious, so this is, too.**


	7. Chapter 7

NOTICE!

For the next few weeks or so, my updates may be sporadic and/or nonexistent, due to the fact that my computer is being worked on during that time. I may not update anytime during that, or maybe only once. I may also not be as able to respond to PMs. Thank you for your cooperation, and my most sincere apologies to all my readers.

-FFcrazy15


	8. Scene 7 The Bandit Lord

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

**Next Morning**

Po mumbled something about tofu and opened his eyes.

It was still dark out, but it seemed to be in that twilight time when one knew the sun was just about to rise. He sat up and noticed that the fire was going again. Looking around, he wondered who had stoked it.

"Good, you're up."

He looked to the side and saw that Tigress was awake. "Oh. Hey, G'Morning."

She acknowledged this with a dip of her head. "The others are already up; I was about wake you, anyway."

"So are you the one that got the fire going again?"

She nodded again. "I was the first up."

Po frowned slightly. Something sounded a bit off about that. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the untimely arrival of Mantis.

"Hey, look who's up."

"Po, you about ready to go?" Viper asked, slithering up beside the insect.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Just give me a few minutes."

"The edges of the Thief Empire isn't far from here," Tigress said, looking around. "From what I've heard, it's more of a huge, single city. **(A/N: Think of it as Ancient China's version of London or New York)** We'll be lucky if we make it to the Palace by nightfall."

It took them a good hour to walk through the surrounding woods to the edge of the city (they didn't dare take the road, not this close). When they finally got to the edge of the forests, they found themselves at the edge of a cliff, looking into a valley.

"Whoa," Po said. There in front of him was the Thief Empire, in all its infamous glory.

The city was huge, spanning the entirety of the valley. Admittedly, this wasn't a huge valley, but it was certainly large enough to make the Dragon Warrior gasp at the size. They were far enough up that they couldn't hear the noise, but they could see tiny dots- people- moving between the toy-like houses and shops.

"That's… big," Po said finally.

"Yeah," Mantis agreed. "Kind of looks like the Forbidden City, huh?"

"That's the way it was designed," Tigress said. "It's a direct contradiction to the Emperor."

"Wait a minute," said Po. "You guys have been to the Forbidden City?"

"Uh-huh. There was an assassin hiding out there a while back; he tried to kill the Emperor, failed, and ran for it. We were hired to get rid of him," Crane answered.

"We'll explain more at a better time," Tigress interjected. "Right now, we need to get into the city unseen and try to get to the Bandit Lord's Palace."

"How are we going to do that?" Monkey asked. "I mean, we kind of… stand out."

"He's got a point," Viper chimed in. "This place is huge, and if we just walk in, people are going to notice."

"I think I've got an idea," Po said suddenly.

Everyone looked at him. "Explain," Tigress said.

He grinned, and everyone knew that they weren't going to like what he had to say.

**About ten minutes later**

"This is a bad plan," Tigress said.

"Aw, come on, have a little faith!"

"Any plan that puts me in a dress is a bad plan."

Even the panda had to admit that for the most part, Tigress was usually right. But he knew for _sure _that this was a good plan.

"Look, you're only going to be in it for a little while!" he argued. "It's simple: we ride into the town in this stolen cart saying that you're a gift for Káilí. Once we get to the Palace, we ditch the cart, knock out some guards, sneak in, and kick butt!"

She rolled her eyes. "If I'm going to be stuck in this cart the whole time, then why do I have to wear _this_?" She lifted her arm and pointed to herself.

Tigress was wearing a woman's robe. The cart they'd ambushed had been coming back from a village raiding, and- by some gift of gods-given luck- had been full of spoils from the house of a lord and lady, including a beautiful, red silk robe. It had long sleeves lined with gold, and the dress was covered with gold and green embroidery.

"Because if someone searches the cart, it'll be more believable!" Po insisted.

She rolled her eyes. "And they're not going to notice you in here?"

"Nope. 'Cause I'm gonna hide." He grinned and went over to the trunk in the corner and hid behind it.

"I can still see you," Tigress said after a minute.

"How about now?" He tried to shrink down farther behind the cart.

Sighing, she stood up and, picking up a few bundles of folded silk and fine linen, put them on top of the chest to hide the panda's backside from view. "_Now _I can't see you."

"Okay, cool."

She sat back down with her back to the chest. "I still think this is a bad plan," she said, looking over her shoulder at the panda's hiding spot.

He peeked over the top of the silks, looked at her, and shook his head. "Nope. This is a _great_ plan."

The cart continued to roll through the streets (Monkey, the most inconspicuous of the six, was driving. Mantis was hiding under Crane's hat while the bird flew high above, and Viper was in one of the chest drawers in a wardrobe, which was where they'd found the dress).

A number of hours passed in a tense sort of silence, as the three warriors present didn't dare breath a word. When they had finally reached the Palace a long time later, the cart pulled to a stop. "State your name and business," they heard a guard say from outside.

"I'm here with a gift for the Bandit Lord," Monkey mumbled, pretending to be a subservient, lower-level thief.

"Really?" the guard asked suspiciously. "What kind of gift?"

"A- a young, unmarried noblewoman from a village my group and I raided. I thought she might be of… interest."

"Oh? Let me see this 'noblewoman.'" The three of them tensed as they heard the guard walk around to the back of the cart, his back paws pushing into the loose gravel. _Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

_ Creeeeak._ The wooden doors swung open.

Po lifted up one of the blankets slightly and watched through the hole. He saw Tigress look up, pretending to be surprised.

"Well, what do we have here?" the guard said. "A young, unmarried tiger lady for the Bandit Lord?"

Tigress bowed her head. "Please," she whispered. "Please, take me home."

The guard laughed. "Yeah, you can keep going. The Bandit Lord will definitely give you something for her. It's not often you can find a tigress, much less bring her back with you. Good work, man."

"Thank you, sir," Monkey said quietly. He and the guard left, closing the door behind him.

Instantly, Tigress was back to her old self. "I'll rip that guard to shreds!" she hissed. "Letting some poor woman be brought to the Bandit Lord! He's a no-good, scum-born, low-life-"

"Tigress, calm down!" Po insisted.

She growled, but didn't say anything more. Viper whistled slightly from the inside of the chest. "I haven't seen you that angry in six months, Tigress."

"What happened six months ago?" Po wondered aloud. There was dead silence for a moment, before it dawned on him. "_Ohh_… right."

Tigress rolled her eyes. "You two are going to get us caught. Be quiet until we're inside the gates."

There was a bump as they went over the gate threshold, and then a low rumble behind them as presumably a door of some sort closed.

The cart stopped, and Tigress quickly slit open the back of the silk robes. She stepped out of them, revealing her usual uniform underneath, and said, "Wait for the signal."

Suddenly, a rhythm was tapped against the front of the wooden cart wall. _Bum ba-da dum dum._

"Go!" Tigress ordered, and she, Viper, and Po burst out from the cart.

Po punched the nearest guard in the face (there were two of them) and knocked him out. Tigress flipped the other over onto his back, and Viper strangled him into unconsciousness. Monkey looked up at the sky and waved his hands, giving Crane and Mantis the OK signal.

"Good work," Po said to Tigress and Viper.

"You too," the feline answered, looking up at the sky for Crane and Mantis.

Within moments, the two had arrived, and the six of them quickly scaled the wall (Po albeit with some help from Crane) of a nearby building.

"That's the main palace," Tigress said, pointing to a building not too far off. "We need someone to get in there and find out what they can about this challenge." She glanced around. "It would be best if just one person went."

"What, you mean you?" Po said. "Uh-uh. That's way too dangerous. I mean, what if you don't come back out?"

"Then it's only one of us lost, not all six," the feline countered.

"No way," the panda argued. "You're not going in there alone. If we can't all go, then at least one or two other people should go with you."

"You're not coming with!" she snapped.

"Oh yeah? Just try to stop me!"

The others looked nervously at the two friends, who were now glaring at each other. "Fine," Tigress finally relented. "But just you. The less people that go in, the less we have to get out."

"Deal," Po agreed. He looked at the others. "If we're not out in an hour, we're probably caught."

"Or dead," Mantis chimed in.

"Yes, thank you _so much_ for reminding them of that," Viper said, rolling her eyes.

"Let's go," Tigress ordered. She leapt from the roof they were on to the next, and then to the next after that.

Po grinned, saluted, and followed after her.

"They're dead meat," Mantis said after a moment.

The Crane, Monkey and Viper all nodded in agreement.

**Inside the Main Palace**

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Po asked.

"The Bandit Lord wouldn't just request a rematch out of the blue, after over a decade of no contact whatsoever. He has a reason; we're in here to find out why," Tigress answered, quickly walking through the hallways.

They'd already had a number of close calls with guards and noblemen, though they had yet to see Káilí. "We need to get to the main strategy room," Tigress said. "That's where the plans will be."

"Um… plans for what, exactly?" Po said nervously.

"Your death, our capture, and anything else the Bandit Lord might be preparing for."

"Oh." He left it at that.

"Follow me," Tigress said, taking a right down another hallway.

"How do you know where you're going?" Po asked.

"If it's laid out the same way the Forbidden City is, then we can't be far from the strategy rooms." She stopped at an intersection between two halls, and then pointed down one of them. "This way."

They quickly ran down the halls. Po was just about to cross one when Tigress suddenly yanked him back. He was about to ask _'What was that for?'_ when a troop of wolves walked by.

"You have to be more careful," Tigress instructed in a low voice, once the guards had passed. "We don't want a repeat of what happened in Gongmen City."

"What happened in Gongmen City?" he asked defensively.

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you forgetting the New Year Dragon?"

"Oh, yeah."

"No more talking," she said. "Follow me as fast as you can, and don't be too loud." She dropped to all fours and took off down the halls.

After a few minutes, Tigress stopped in front of two large wooden doors. Motioning him to keep quiet, she opened the doors a crack, and then nodded to him when she saw that no one was inside. Po quickly walked up to her, and they both walked in.

The room was of an impressive size, lit well with a number of torches. There were two doors, the one they'd just entered and another on the other side of the room. Maps and letters were strewn over a number of bamboo desks, beside inkwells and large, colorful quill pens. "Peacock feathers," Tigress said, examining one. "Extremely expensive, not to mention illegal."

"Illegal? Why?"

She glanced at him. "How much would you like to have a feather pulled out of your butt?"

"Good point."

"Start looking through these plans for anything interesting. Go quickly; someone could walk in at any moment."

He began looking through the plans, one after another, muttering as he went. "Building plans, a map of somewhere, a letter from some lord, cannon blueprints, conquest plans-"

Wait a minute. _Wait a freakin' minute._ Cannon blueprints? Conquest plans?

"Hey, Tigress?" Po said.

"What?"

"Do conquest plans and cannon blueprints count as interesting?"

She stopped looking through a stack of letters and whirled around. "What?"

He lifted up the plans. "See? Cannons. Just like what Shen made."

She quickly walked over and scanned the pieces of paper. "Oh no…" she breathed.

"What?"

"He's planning a takeover. Somehow he got ahold of Shen's cannon designs- probably a thief stationed in Gongmen City-, and he's going to use them and his army of bandits to take over China." She pointed at the trail of red dots on the conquest map, and then stuck her claw into one in particular. "That one. That's the Valley of Peace." Suddenly, her eye caught a line of tiny characters next to the dot:

燔 玉 宮 并店. (Burn Jade Palace and Shop).

"Tigress? What's up?" Po asked, noticing how her muscles tensed.

"He wants to burn the Palace… and your dad's shop," she answered.

"What?" Po said, hoping he hadn't heard right.

"He's going to burn down your homes," Tigress answered, the merest trace of a growl in her voice. "Both of them. He's going to kill you, burn your homes, and take over China. He wants to get rid of any trace of you."

"But why would he want that?"

"You're a symbol of hope to China," she answered. "Destroying that hope would lower the people's moral and make them less formidable, not to mention terrifying the Emperor's armies with how he destroyed the Dragon Warrior. Think of the effect that would have on their fighting." She looked him dead in the eyes. "If he can kill you, he will."

"What- but- Look, Káilí may be the Bandit Lord and all, but he's not evil."

"Po, listen to me," she said seriously. "He isn't your friend anymore. He's not the person you thought you-"

Suddenly, she stopped dead. "What?" Po asked.

"Someone's coming!" she hissed. She glanced around for an exit, and then pointed at the other door. "Go!"

They both ran for the door. Tigress pulled it open, and Po followed her. Just as he was closing it, he saw the other one open on the other side of the room.

"Your Majesty," the wolf guard said, opening the door for his tiger master.

Káilí walked into the room. He was a strong male tiger of about twenty-six years, though of course as an orphan, no one knew for sure. With brilliant golden eyes, sharp white fangs, and distinctive black markings, his face was very handsome. He had something of a regal, arrogant air, while still maintaining the carelessness of a young lord. But anyone who thought he was inefficient because of his age was not only a fool, but likely a dead one. The Bandit Lord had one of the most stunning battle legacies in China, and he knew it, too. And what with his battle prowess, good looks, and an entire empire built on spoils… well, it was no surprise that he was _very _popular with the ladies.

"Have we received the details on the Palace Guard Shifts yet?" Káilí asked with a nonchalant air.

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Good. What about the whereabouts of the Five and the Dragon Warrior?"

"Word is that they left the Palace just over a week ago. None of the guards have reported anything within the city, however." He hesitated slightly, and then continued. "But two guards _were_ reported to be missing."

Káilí chuckled. "We get a report like that every night, General. They're probably off taking a drink. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"The outer guard said that a cart came in for you a while ago, with a new young lady in it."

This time, the Bandit Lord full-out laughed. "A young lady? Really? What was she? A leopard? Mountain cat?"

"No, sir. A tigress."

The laughter stopped. Káilí turned slowly. "A tigress? You're sure?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tell me, General, did the driver of this cart happen to be a panda?"

"No, sir, a monkey."

Káilí nodded. "So. They _are_ within the city then. The outer guard will suffer my… displeasure… soon, but I have other fish to fry."

The general winced. "Sir, please…"

"Oh, is that too graphic for you, General? My most sincere apologies," his master answered mockingly. He turned to his battle plans, and then stopped. "Well, well, well," he said, laughing again. "Look at what we have here." He lifted up the map

The wolf studdied it for a moment. "What is it, sir?"

Káilí pointed to the dot in the middle of the Valley of Piece. It had been pierced through. "General, it seems that a kitty got her claws stuck in our map. Wouldn't you agree?"

The general blinked. "You think that Master Tigress is inside the palace?"

"Why, of course. In fact, I think that she's rather close. And I doubt she's alone. I think that my old friend happens to be accompanying her." He chuckled again. "Go search for them. Find them, capture them, and bring them to me."

The wolf put his fist into his paw and bowed. "Yes, your Majesty, right away." He walked over to the other door and left.

Káilí watched him go, and then turned back to his battle plans. "Run if you can, old friend," he said to himself. "I think it's time to start a little game of cat and panda."

**A/N: Cheesy ending, but hey, what can I say?**


	9. Scene 8 Escaping the Palace

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

**Inside the Palace**

Po followed Tigress as she took one left, and then a right. Another right, another left-

"Where are we going?" he asked, as they switched down another hall.

"Away." After a few more moments, she stopped. "That should be good for now."

"They don't know we're here, right?" Po said nervously.

"No, not unless they saw the door close, which I doubt they did. The Bandit Lord will probably go straight to his maps and plans-" Suddenly, Tigress groaned and slumped against the wall, eyes closed.

"Tigress?" he said, alarmed. "What's up? Are you hurt?"

"No," she said, and opened her eyes again. "The map. He's going to see the map."

"What do you mean?"

"My claw, Po. It went through the map, remember?"

"What- but- Oh come on, they're not going to notice that," Po said. "Um…Will they?"

"A 'young tigress' came through the doors as a gift just over an hour ago. He'll see the claw mark and add two and two together. In fact, he probably already knows." She shook her head angrily. "I'm such a fool." She frowned, stood up straight again, and cocked her head. In the distance, Po could hear the padded sound of paws on stone.

"Run," Tigress ordered.

So he did.

They raced down the halls again, the sounds of paw steps picking up behind them, as well.

"Split up!" they heard the head warrior yell from a few halls behind. "All of you, split up and find them!"

"This way!" Tigress said, switching directions down another hall. As they skidded around a corner, they saw wolves on one end.

"THERE!" one of them shouted.

"GO! GO!" another yelled, chasing after the tiger and the panda.

"Po! Right!" Tigress yelled, turning right the next hall.

Their path led them right by another group, so they took the next left. Po wasn't sure where they even were in the Palace anymore; they could have been going in circles for all he knew.

They dodged one group and found themselves facing another. Turning down another two corridors, the two suddenly found themselves in an empty hall.

"Tigress- we can't- keep running!" Po panted. "They'll corner- us eventually."

"You're right," she answered, looking around. "We have to hide, and then get to a window. That's the only way out." She looked around, and noticed that the hall was lined with doors that had a sign on them, all of them reading:

宬

(Storage)

"These are storage closets," she said. "We can hide in one of these until they go to the next part of the palace to search." She quickly led him over to the fifth closet and opened the door.

There wasn't much inside, just a few brooms, some silk bed sheets, and a mop. Po gestured for her to go in. "Ladies first."

"Shut up." Tigress shoved him inside, then followed him in and shut the door.

The closet was small, so Po was stuck kind of kitty-corner to the door and at a right angle to Tigress, whose shoulder was in his chest. As they listened, barely daring to breath, the troop of guards stopped in the intersection between their hall and the one that crossed it.

"No one down this one, boss," Po heard one of the wolves say.

"No, we'll continue on to the next."

Po let out a slight sigh of relief, before he heard the head say, "Wait a minute… just in case, Wang, check these storage closets. Yell if you hear anything."

"Yes sir," another voice said. The troop passed by.

"Why do I always get stuck with the dumb jobs?" Wang muttered. There was a click as he opened the first closet, and then a loud SLAM! as he closed the door again, finding nothing.

Po's eyes were wide with fear. If the wolf caught them, they were dead meat. Literally. He glanced at Tigress. Her eyes were wide, too, darting around as if desperately trying to concoct a plan.

Click. _SLAM!_

Click. _SLAM!_

Click. _SLAM!_

Po whimpered. They were next. He winced, waited for the door to open-

And suddenly, Tigress grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him.

His eyes went even wider, if that was possible. He couldn't think. His shocked brain shut down. BEEP! BEEP! EMOTIONAL OVERLOAD! BEEP! BEEP!

Wang opened the door. He was presented with a wonderful view of the couple locked in a passionate embrace, whereupon he paled white, then went very, _very_ red under his gray fur.

"Uh- heh- sorry," he stuttered, shocked, and closed the door.

A second later, he opened it again. "Hey, wait a minute, aren't you-"

WHAM! Tigress scissor-kicked him into the opposite wall.

Wang fell to the ground and slumped against the wall, unconscious. Tigress ran over and, after checking to make sure the wolf was truly out for the count, used the bed sheets to tie him up. After using the last bit of sheets as a gag, she hauled the wolf into the closet.

"Won't he, you know, die in there?" Po asked, who seemed to be clinging to any sort of normality he could in order to escape talking about the K-I-S-S.

"No. The cleaning crews will find him by morning." She closed the door and said, "Let's go."

They took off running again, this time to the end of the hallway, where there was a glass window. Tigress kicked it, and it shattered.

"Go," she ordered, and Po jumped out the window (they were only on the first story). Tigress followed him. "Run for the gates," she said, as they raced between the different court buildings.

"Won't the others still be inside here?"

"No. We have a system for this kind of raid; Crane does an flyover, and at the first sign of danger, anyone not on the search party gets out immediately. It's how we worked in the Forbidden City."

"Gotcha."

They soon found themselves at the main gates, and it seemed that all the guards had left in order to search the main palace for them. They quickly scaled the walls (Po with some help from Tigress, of course), and found themselves in the main town.

"Keep running," Tigress said to him. "We need to get as far away from the Palace as possible."

He nodded and didn't say anything. After a while, once they were far enough away, he said, "Hey, Tigress?"

"What?" she said, eyes still dead ahead.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Y'know… what you did in the storage room…"

"Strategy," she said simply.

"Oh." He was quiet for another moment, and then said, "How did you know it would work?"

"If you found two people kissing in a closet, what would you do?"

He went red at the _K_ word. "Uh… good point." He glanced down, and saw that red streaks were lining the road. Confused, the followed them to their source:

Tigress's right paw.

"Hey, stop," the panda said.

"Why?"

"Your foot's bleeding."

"So?"

He caught her arm and stopped her. "So there's probably still glass in it."

She yanked her arm from his grasp. "What does it matter?"

"Well, they can track us with it, can't they? I mean, they can follow the blood right to us."

She blinked. "I- I didn't think of that."

"Let's get it taken care of, huh?" he said, trying not to sound worried. For whatever reason, Tigress seemed spooked, so much so that she was making basic mistakes.

He led her over to a nearby alley and had her sit down on a box. "Let me see your paw," he said.

She lifted her leg and he looked it over, trying to ignore the twisting in his stomach. "Okay, there's still some glass in it. I'm going to try to get it out."

Tigress nodded, and he went to work, quickly pulling out the shards of glass stuck in her foot. Throughout the entire thing, Tigress didn't make so much as a sound.

"So," Po said, while he was working, "What's up with you, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "You usually wouldn't have made that kind of mistake."

She didn't answer to that.

"Is it your foot or something? Does it hurt? Or did something in the palace scare-"

"That was my first kiss."

He stared at her. "_What?_"

"That was my first kiss," she repeated. "I suppose I'm just a little… shell-shocked."

"Oh." There was a moment of horrible silence that seemed to last a thousand years, before he said with an awkward grin, "Mine too."

She blinked. "Oh. I- I see…"

Suddenly, without any apparent reason, Po started to laugh. It was contagious, and soon, she was laughing, too. "W-why are we laughing?" she said finally.

"I dunno. It's just funny," he said, grinning. "Come on, let's go find the others."

"Yes, of course," Tigress agreed, standing up. "They must be worried; let's not keep them waiting." She took off once again through the streets, Po quickly hurrying after her.

**A/N: Sorry, I know it's short. Oh well. Tell me what you thought of it!**


	10. Scene 9 Preparation

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

**Thief Empire**

The four warriors sat restlessly in the blackened alleyway, waiting.

"Do you think they're okay?" Viper fretted. "What if they didn't make it out?"

"Then they're dead," Mantis said. There was no humor in his voice this time; obviously, he did not mean it as a joke.

"But what if the Bandit Lord caught them? They're good fighters… but if he had guards with, they couldn't fight them all off!" She slithered back and forth, which was her way of pacing. "What if-"  
>"Guys, look!" Monkey said. They all peeked out from behind the wall.<p>

Two figures were coming down the street, hurrying quickly. Within moments, they were distinguishable as a panda and a tiger. Just as they were about to pass by, Viper hissed, "Po! Tigress!"

The two turned. "Guys! There you are, we've been looking all over for you!" Po said, relieved.

Viper flicked her tongue out slightly. "I taste blood. Who's hurt?"

"That's me," Tigress said. "I kicked through some glass and it cut my foot. Po took care of it."

"So did you guys find out what's going on?" Mantis asked, hopping onto Crane's hat.

"The Bandit Lord is planning a takeover of China through, the use of a thief army and cannons, like Shen's," Tigress answered. "The designs were probably stolen from the destroyed Tower of Sacred Flame during the chaos in the harbor."

"Is it just me, or do we always end up with the nutcases that want to take over China?" Crane asked.

"We need to get back in that palace, burn the cannon designs and the conquest maps, and get rid of the Bandit Lord," Tigress continued.

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Po said. "We're just going to kill him?"

The feline looked at him, and there was a shadow of sympathy in her eyes. "We'll try to take him alive, but if it comes to that, yes," she answered, her voice ever so slightly gentler than before.

They held the look for just a moment, but before the others could begin asking questions about why the panda was so hesitant to kill the Bandit Lord (they, of course, didn't know that Po and Káilí had once been best friends) Tigress switched the conversation again. "We need to get out of the city and recover," she said. "We'll go back in tomorrow night. Understood?"

There was a general consent, and with it six of the greatest warriors in China fled the Thief Empire and ran for the hills.

**Next Morning**

Po groaned and sat up as a ray of sunlight flashed into his eyes. Glancing around, he wondered where he was for a moment, before remembering that they'd fallen asleep in an alleyway on the outskirts of the town.

He glanced over at the others, whose positions had not been touched by the sun as of yet, leaving them in dreamland. All but one other…

The red-eyed feline glanced over at him from where she was drawing with her claw in the considerable dirt of the alley. Po stood and walked over to her.

"Watcha doing?" he asked, low enough so as not to wake the others.

"Strategizing." She showed him her drawings, and he recognized it as a basic layout of the Bandit Lord's Palace. She pointed to a few boxes inside the main Palace. "These are the Strategy Rooms, where we were before." She pointed to some more, this time outside. "That's our main priority location: we need to destroy the papers." She pointed to some more boxes, this time outside. "These are the guard barracks." Finally she pointed to one box, somewhat off-center from the middle of the Palace. "And this is the Royal Bedchamber. That'll be the best place to attempt an assassination, if necessary."

Po was dead silent. Tigress glanced over at him.

"Po. I know that this isn't easy for you to hear, but you need to know the truth: Káilí is your enemy. We have to make sure he can't rise to power, no matter the personal cost. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Really?" she said. "Then you know that if we're all dead, and you're the last one alive, and you happen to get even the ghost of a chance to kill him, you'll have to do it. Promise me that you understand this.

"Tigress-"

"Promise me." The feline looked him dead in the eyes as she said this. "Promise me that you'll follow orders and keep yourself safe. Promise me that you won't do anything stupid, Po."

"Tigress, I don't think I can just kill him!" he said. "Even if it was either him or me… I mean, he was my best friend once."

"Po, you cannot allow your emotions to get in the way of this," she said seriously. "Káilí is _not_ your friend, and he will _kill_ you if he gets the chance. Your life comes first. Not just because of self-preservation, but because of what you mean to China. Do you understand me?"

He opened his mouth to answer, and that was when the Crane suddenly woke up. He ruffled his feathers a bit, and then looked over at the tiger and the panda in surprise. "Oh. You guys are awake?"

"Obviously," Tigress said, with just the slightest curve of a smile on her lips. "We should wake the others; I want us to get a move on early today. The more time we have to plan this out, the better."

They quickly got the others up, and Tigress started to explain her picture again. The others nodded and occasionally added in something she forgot (they remembered the Forbidden City layout, as well).

Suddenly, Viper asked, "But what's that?" She pointed to a circle beside a wavy line.

"That's a mountain river that runs through the Thief Empire. I believe it flows from the west and cuts through a cliff chasm to the east, which is uncharted territory. The circle beside it is a tall building, probably a watchtower."

"Gotcha," Po said. "So… what's the plan?"

"We break in through the front gate, like before." Tigress said, drawing a line through the imaginary gate. "When we get in, we take out all and any witnesses."

"If we get in, we go into the Palace through the roof, just like before, only much more carefully. They've probably got guards on twenty-four hour supervision on the lookout for us, and we want to get in with the least amount of trouble as possible.

"After that, we go to the Strategy rooms, where we were before. We set fire to the plans. If we're lucky, the room should light on fire with the papers, which would create a distraction for us to find the Bandit Lord, capture him, and get out. Once we're out, we'll decide what to do from there." She looked up. "Understood?"

"Ay, ay, captain!" Mantis said, with fake enthusiasm. He and Monkey began to chortle, before being cut short by a glare from their 'captain.'

"When do we go in?" Crane asked.

"Tonight, about an hour after sunset. Until then, we need to gather supplies: oil, matches, gunpowder, and anything else that might be useful." She stood up. "Meet back here at sundown."

As the others scattered, Po glanced over at Tigress. The feline yawned **(A/N: Have you ever seen a cat yawn? It's SO funny!)**.

He didn't think anything of it for a moment, before he realized something very important:

Tigress didn't yawn. _Ever_.

He looked back at her. "Hey, Tigress?"

"Yes?"

"Did you get enough sleep last night?"

She blinked. "Of course. I got as much as I need."

Tigress didn't _blink_, either. His eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion. "How much?"

Before she could reply, Mantis and Monkey came running back around the corner. "Come on, man!" Mantis said, annoyed. "I want to go find the gunpowder before Crane and Viper do!"

"Yeah!" Po said enthusiastically. "See you later, Tigress!" And with that, he followed Mantis and Monkey into the busy streets.

**A/N: Er… yeah. Short chapter and long in coming, I know. Sorry, but my schedule has been so packed lately, I've barely had time to breath. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've eaten three square meals a day since Monday…**


	11. Scene 10 Temple of Earthly Tranquility

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I got the floor plan of the Forbidden City from http :/images. chinahighlights. com/city/beijing/ the-forbidden-city-map. Jpg. Information on the Hall of Earthly Tranquility came from http: /www. beijingtrip. com/attractions /forbidden/terrestrial. html , and a picture for the description of the Wedding Room came from http: /sunnytrip-beijing. com/page/default. asp?ID= 148 .

Wra1th: Oh wow, you're absolutely right! Dang, how did I miss that? Thanks for telling me!

**That Night, Sunset**

Six sets of eyes peeked over the top of a roof, looking at the gates in front of them.

"The shift is about to change," Tigress whispered. "Wait for my signal."

They waited a few moments, and then a harsh, loud bell rang out from somewhere. Immediately, all the guards abandoned post and began to walk along the paths. As they did so, a new shift began to come out.

"Go! Go!" the tiger master ordered. She and the others quickly leapt from the roof they were on to the bottom of the huge red gates. It was too big to jump over from this side, so they quickly snuck in through the one of the gates (there were five) as the first shift was leaving, and then hid in a shadowed corner.

There were almost no guards around; it seemed that everyone was waiting for an outside attack. The two that were in the courtyard heard the thumps and turned simultaneously. Seeing no one, they shrugged and turned away.

THWACK! The two guards fell, revealing a panda and a tiger just behind them, who had evidently been hiding in the shadows.

"Come on guys, let's go," Po whispered towards the darkest part of the wall, gesturing with his hand.

They quickly hurried over the Golden Waters Bridge, past the numerous temples and halls, through the Gate of Supreme Harmony to the Dept. of Military Affairs (where Po and Tigress been before).

"The layout is exactly the same," Crane said, glancing around. "Even the names are the same. The Bandit Lord has copied the Forbidden City to the character."

"Not half as many people, though," said Mantis. "I guess that most thieves don't want to be servants and cooks and stuff."

"And it's a lot smaller, too," Viper agreed.

"You guys are insane. Look at this place!" Po said. "It's HUGE!"

"Enough talking," said Tigress. "We have a job to do."

"Right," Po whispered. He quickly pulled open the door. "Ladies first."

"And they say that chivalry is dead," said Viper teasingly.

Once they were all inside, Tigress whispered, "All of you, stay behind me. Stay as silent as possible."

"Gotcha." The panda went up on his 'tippy-toes.'

She glared at him. "No messing around."

"Yeah, okay," he said hastily, going back to his normal height.

They hurried around corners and slunk through the halls, which were surprisingly empty. Retracing the path they'd taken before, Po and Tigress managed to lead the others to the strategy rooms. The other five held their breath as Tigress gently opened the doors (she'd insisted on being the first to look in), and let out sighs of relief when she gave them the 'all clear' signal.

They quietly crept in. Po (the only one with pockets) pulled out a few matches. They'd been unable to steal any firework powder or oils to use to help with the burning, so simple matches would have to suffice.

"Set fire to the maps first," Tigress ordered. "Then the cannon blueprints, and then everything else. Leave nothing behind."

The job went quickly, and soon everyone was hurrying out of the room, coughing on smoke.

"Go!" Tigress ordered, shoving the panda out of the room. Said panda was currently trying not to choke on the thick black smoke coming from the papers and ink. "Everyone out! Get as far away as possible."

Nobody crept through the halls this time; they ran like their tails were on fire, and not just the building.

When they got outside, it was as if the world had gone mad. Po's ears were ringing with the shouts of "FIRE! FIRE!" and "HELP! WATER- SOMEBODY GET WATER!"

No one paid the six warriors any mind, but they knew it wouldn't be that way for long. "Let's get out of here," said Po.

The agreement was unanimous.

**KFP**

"Your Majesty!" a guard said, bursting through the doors.

Káilí looked up from his claws, which he was sharpening on a whetstone. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"The Strategy Rooms- they're on fire!"

Káilí stood. "_What?_"

"The Strategy Rooms, sir, in the Dept. of Military Affairs! They're on fire! The whole building will be burned to the ground if something isn't done!"

"Go," the Bandit Lord ordered. "Gather some men to put it out, I want it at least a hundred fifty strong!"

"Yes sir!" The lieutenant was about to leave when his master finally stopped him.

"Wait. Make it only a hundred. I want the other fifty to help me capture the culprits."

The Lieutenant blinked. "Sir?"

"The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior are within the walls of the Palace; this is obviously a diversion. They're going to attempt to capture me. However," At this, he flashed a handsome, though perhaps menacing, smile, his snowy-white fangs glinting in the torchlight. "However, I'm going to cause a little diversion of my own. Take twenty of the fifty and have them follow me at a distance; have the other thirty at the Northeast corner tower."

"Yes, sir." The Lieutenant saluted and left.

**KFP**

"Okay, so, lighting the building on fire. Check. What's next?" Po asked

"We need to find the Bandit Lord," Tigress answered, without so much as looking back. They were running through the complex of buildings and temples, passing numerous soldiers on their way to help.

"We figure out where we are," Crane said, always the sensible one. "Let's stop and hide in this temple for a bit."

"He's right. Tigress, we need to figure out a plan," Viper agreed.

"You're right." The feline stopped, and they all quickly hurried over to a small storage shed. Po watched as Tigress remained outside a few moments longer, checking to make sure no one was following them, before she came in, as well.

"So how do you want to do this?" Monkey asked, once she was in.

"Yeah, we can't just keep running around like morons," Mantis agreed.

"Before we can do anything, we need to know where the Bandit Lord is," Tigress admonished them. "But we can't know unless we go looking."

"Oh, I know where he is," Po said, surprised.

Everyone looked at him. "Where is he?" said Crane.

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "He's right outside."

"What?" Viper said. She slithered over and peeked through the crack in the doors. "He's right. The Bandit Lord is right there."

"Let me see," Monkey said, looking through the crack herself. "She's right. He's just standing there, like he's waiting for something- Hold on, he's leaving."

"Follow him," Tigress ordered.

They crept out of the shed and followed the Bandit Lord out into the streets, keeping to the shadows. Káilí took them all over the City. Guards had abandoned gates that would normally have been closed. He led them through a number of temples, to different streets, and even in a loop.

"Does it seem to anyone else that he's leading us on a wild goose chase?" Mantis muttered.

"Trust me, you've never been on a wild goose chase," Po answered.

"Care to explain that one?" Viper asked.

"Well, my dad's allergic to this one kind of herb-"

"Not the time!" Tigress hissed. Everyone fell silent once again.

A few more minutes of tailing the tiger brought them to the doors of another temple. As he was about to go in, a guard came running up to Káilí and said something to him in a low tone. The Bandit Lord said back, "All right, tell them I'm on the way. But I can only be there a little while; I have to be back here in ten minutes. Understood?"

"Yes, my liege." The guard bowed and ran off, Kaílí following him just behind.

The others were about to go after him when Tigress stopped them. "He said he'd be back. We need a few minutes to figure out our plan anyway." She glanced around, and then pointed at a large temple. "Let's go in there and figure out what we're going to do."

They quickly climbed up the marble stairs into the hall and went inside. The inside of the temple was painted red

"Where are we?" Viper wondered, her voice seeming to echo in the silence.

"The Hall of Earthly Tranquility," Tigress answered. "Or a copy of it, anyway. This is-" She looked around. The only people beside her were Viper and Crane. Vaguely, she heard Po's fanboy cries of joy echoing from one of the rooms.

"Where'd they go?" she asked, sighing.

"Well, Po probably went off sightseeing, and who knows where Monkey and Mantis went?" Viper said truthfully.

CRASH!

Tigress closed her eyes and face-pawed. "I'm going to go find Po before he breaks anything else. You two go get Mantis and Monkey."

She headed off in the direction of the crash. After a moment or two of searching, she came to another red painted room. This one was lit with numerous glowing yellow lanterns and golden characters, 喜悅 ,were painted on the walls. The carpet was red, the color for luck, with dragons and white-outlined flowers embroidered on it. Gold and red banners were hung from the walls, and between to pillars was the main attraction: the wedding bed.

Po was standing right beside it, wincing and trying to piece some sort of incense jar back together. He looked over his shoulder and, upon seeing Tigress, hastily insisted, "It was an accident!"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm well aware. Don't bother trying to fix it; this is all stolen, anyway, and it's not as if it would be worth anything to the Bandit Lord."

"Okay." He put the pieces back down and looked around. "So what is this place?"

"This is the bridal chamber," Tigress answered. She looked at the perfectly made bed. "Obviously it's never been slept in. The Bandit Lord must not have a wife."

"Oh," Po said. Then, suddenly he blushed. "OH."

She looked at him, smirking slightly. "What did you think I meant when I said this was the bridal chamber?"

"Um…"

"Don't answer that." She looked around. "It's nearly a perfect replica. It's beautiful."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"And it makes me _sick_."

He looked at her, surprised. "What?"

"I hate this place," Tigress growled. "Everything in here is the spoil of hardworking citizens. It's absolutely sickening."

"Tigress-"

"Maybe he was your best friend once, Po," the feline said, "But right now, I want to tear him apart for what he's done to the people of China."

"You're really protective of them, aren't you?" Po said, with something of an awed expression.

"It's my job, my life. It's the meaning of being a master: to protect those who can't protect themselves." He saw a harsh, blazing fire in her eyes; the fire of passion, something he'd never seen in her face before. "It's the very essence of who we are and what we do. Kung Fu isn't about strength or speed or how many people you've defeated. Kung Fu is about protecting the weak and defending the hopeless. It's about giving everything you have for the people who depend on you."

Suddenly, as if once again realizing he was there, she quickly took a half-step back. "Forgive me, Dragon Warrior, I didn't mean to get so impassioned…"

"Naw, that was great. I mean, I've never seen you so emotional." He grinned. "I think it's kind of cool." He unconsciously took a step towards her.

"You're the first. The only time I tried to tell the others, they thought I'd been on catnip." She, too, took a step forward, without realizing it.

"Really? Why are they masters if they don't like Kung Fu?"

"They like it, don't misunderstand me. They just don't love it." Step.

"You mean like us?" Another step. They were almost nose to nose now.

"Yes, exactly. Like us." Step.

He was about to take one more- his foot was already in the air- when suddenly, a voice called out, "Tigress! Po! Where are you?"

"Whoa!" He tripped, startled, and fell into Tigress. This, of course, sent them both tumbling into the wedding bed.

WHUMPH. They landed on the rather hard bed, which was covered by an embroidered cover.

"Guys, are you in-" Mantis started, and then stopped.

A second's stunned silence passed, before both the panda and the tiger yelled, "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

A/N:** I had a bit of a time period mishap; apparently, the Forbidden City wasn't built until around 1402 AD, whereas Kung Fu Panda takes place roughly 890 AD. I'M SO SORRY! I did not under any circumstances mean to take away the authenticity of the story! I simply wasn't thorough in my research, and I apologize sincerely for that. However, for the sake of the story, could we pretend that this takes place sometime after 1656 AD? Thanks, and sorry once again.**


	12. Scene 11 Tower Fight

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda.

**Temple of Earthly Tranquility**

"So are you guys going to start picking out curtains next or what?" Mantis asked.

Tigress growled. "Shut up."

"Yeah. Tigress and I totally aren't like that!" Po agreed.

"Whatever you say…" Mantis said in a sing-song tone.

"Mantis, leave them alone," Viper chided.

"Yeah, they can't help it if they're hopelessly attracted to each other," Monkey agreed, laughing.

FWAP! Tigress cat-batted the primate on the side of the head. "Focus. We need a definite plan, and we've got a total of five minutes to design it."

"I thought we had a plan. Catch the Bandit Lord, tie him up, and bring him back with us," Po said.

"That's the idea, yes. But we need an escape plan. The way we got out last night is too risky; there's bound to be guards there tonight."

"Why not just over the walls?" Crane asked.

"There's a moat around them that's fed by the river. Not all of us can fly; if we fall into the moat, the river will drag us out. That river is fast and dangerous, and in any case we might not survive the fall. If we did, we'd most certainly be knocked out when we hit the water, and then we're as good as dead." They waited for a moment as she thought, and then said, "There's a gate in the back. There will probably be guards there, but not as many as the gate in the front. Go out that way if we need to leave. Understood?"

Everyone agreed to this, and they waited for the Bandit Lord to come by, opening the door just a crack. While they waited, Po whispered quietly to Tigress, "Hey."

She glanced at him and didn't respond.

"Listen… what they were talking about-"

"Ignore them. They just want to get a rise out of us."

"Gotcha."

"There he is!" Viper whispered,

Quietly, they snuck out of the storage shed and began to follow Káilí through the streets once again. The air was completely silent except for the tiger's footsteps, so they had to be as silent as possible.

Instead of walking all over the place, this time he seemed to have a definite destination. He was walking very quickly in a straight line.

The tiger led them through a gate and around a few buildings. Within minutes, they'd reached the outer edges of the city, the Northeast corner, to be specific. Without even looking back, Káilí disappeared into the lookout turret.

Po was about to follow him in when a hand blocked his way. "Wait," Tigress ordered. "This could be a trap." He watched as she looked around, obviously calculating escapes and alternate ways in. "We'll go in through that window."

"Window?" he asked.

The feline pointed to the top of the tower. Way up high, a window was set into the last level of the turret.

"Okay, yeah," he agreed. "One little problem: how do we get up there?"

"Well, the only way in is up."

It took a second for it to click. "Wait, you mean what we did back in Gongmen City?"

"Exactly. Crane," she said, turning towards the avian, "Can you carry Monkey, Mantis and Viper up there?"

He didn't even wait for the order. Swift as wind, he grabbed the snake, primate, and insect in his talons, and carried them up the building, disappearing through the window.

"Let's go," Tigress said, and, without even looking back, she grabbed him by the wrists and through him up onto the first ledge.

"WHAAA- OOMPH!" He landed rather heavily on the tiles. "That hurt…"

THUMP! Tigress landed beside him (she'd jumped). "You're not supposed to let go."

"Really? I didn't notice! Why'd you do that?"

"I _thought_ you were ready."

"Why the heck would I be ready?" he said, struggling to his feet.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, _are you ready_?" she said, very slowly, as if talking to a little kid.

"Yeah, I am nAHHH!" WHAM!

THUMP. "Maybe I should just throw you up the rest of the way and get this over with?"

"That- *pant* would be *pant* great."

WHAM! THUMP!

Po stood up on the ledge, pressing himself to the wall (the ground was a _looooong_ ways away).

Tigress was on the other side of the window, also pressed to the wall. "On three," she whispered. "One, two-"

"Three!" he yelled, and jumped for the window.

SHING!

The moment their feet touched the floor, a sea of swords and spears were aimed at their necks.

"Hello," Káilí said, smiling smugly.

**KFP**

A moment's stunned silence passed, before Káilí said casually, "Bind them."

"Not on your life," Tigress growled, raising her paws into fighting position. As soon as she did so, the blades all around her suddenly jumped a good two inches closer, pricking her neck and drawing tiny beads of blood.

"Tigress, don't move!" Po said.

"_No_, really?" the feline snapped, batting aside a spear that was going a bit too deep into her skin. She growled at the nearest soldier, a boar. "You better back off, or I'll-"

"You'll what?" the Bandit Lord asked, and, with a flick of his paw, the swords around Po began to trace little red dots on his neck, as well. Out of the corner of his eye, the panda saw that the other four had already been tied up and gagged.

"Let me make this very simple," Káilí said. "If either one of you try to fight, the other dies. Understood?"

Po saw Tigress' eyes go wide, before they narrowed again and she muttered, "Understood."

"As I said before: _bind them_," the Bandit Lord ordered.

His orders were followed out quite effectively, and soon both Po and Tigress were chained to two columns, side by side.

"Uh, sir, do you want 'em gagged?" one of the men, this one a wolf, asked.

"No. Leave these two free to speak. I wish for a little conversation." He turned to his troops. "Leave immediately. Help with the fire."

"Yessir," they all mumbled, and left.

A few moments later, once the last guard had walked out, Káilí turned back to the two. Instead of going towards Po, as they expected, he instead walked over towards Tigress.

"Well, what do we have here?" he said softly. "Master Tigress, correct?"

"Impeccably," she answered with a growl. She noticed that he was wearing a general's armor, not to mention he was very muscular. And handsome. With another growl, she shook off the instinctive attraction, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, if I must say, you've gotten much more intelligent over the years. Much more, ahem, _mature_ as well." He smirked at her.

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Well, as you might know, we tigers are predators. We search until we find the right prey." He winked. "Or the right mate."

Tigress gave him deadpan and said in a tone so dry, it could destroy an ocean, "Flirting usually works better if you take the girl out for dinner than if you capture her and chain her up."

"Oh, I see," Káilí said, smirking. "You have a preference in men."

"Yes. They don't _chain me to pillars_."

"No, I meant a certain taste. As in, fat, lazy slobs who can't do a pushup to save their lives."

"You'll pay for that!" Tigress snarled, and started struggling against the chains. But it was no use; the thick wood of the pillar was too strong, even for her.

"Wait, what?" Po said.

Káilí turned to him. "Well, speak of the slob himself."

"Hey!" Po said, looking hurt. "I'm not that big of a-"

"Really, this is the kind of man you go for?" Káilí said, turning back to Tigress. "You must not have great pickings."

"How dare you!" she seethed. "How dare you insult the Dragon Warrior!"

"Oh, he won't be the Dragon Warrior for long," the Bandit Lord said silkily.

It took everyone a moment to get this. "Wait, you're going to kill us?" Po said, stunned.

"Oh no. I'm not going to kill all of you."

The panda sighed with relief. "Good. For a moment there, I thought you were going to go all 'whoo! Claws!' on us and-"

"I'm just going to kill you, _old friend_."

Po stared. "But- why would- huh?"

"It's very simple, really," Káilí said casually, as if they were discussing the whether. "Nothing personal, of course. But I need your position."

"My position?"

"Still as dumb as ever," the tiger said with a sigh. "I suppose I'm going to have to spell it out for you: I'm. Going. To. Be. The. Dragon. Warrior."

"Oh, that?" Po said, surprised. "I've heard that before like- Viper, what's the count now?"

The snake mumbled something through the cloth around her mouth, probably along the lines of 'my mouth is gagged, Po.'

"Yeah, that many times. Trust me, you're not the first."

"Oh, you mean that moron Tai Lung?" the Bandit Lord said, with a wave of his paw. "He had no idea what he really wanted out of the title. All that effort, just to try to earn his master's pride? Please. I've got a lot more I desire out of that it."

"Like what?" Po said, somewhat morbidly interested.

"Well, there're the females, for one matter. Actually, one in particular."

That was when it all fell in place. "Whoa, whoa, wait!" Po said. "You're saying that this whole challenge thingy is over _Tigress_?"

"Women, the Dragon Scroll, the honor… Everything that comes with the title," Káilí answered indifferently.

"You're joking, right? Me and Tigress?"

"Of course. My spies have told me that the two of you are the talk of the Valley."

"What? No way! That's completely aw-" He caught Tigress' glare. "Insane! Completely insane. I mean, we're not like a- a couple or anything! You can have her!"

"Excuse me?" Tigress said, sounding annoyed.

"If she likes that idea," Po amended.

"Really?" Káilí said, somehow managing to look pleased and arrogant at the same time. He turned to Tigress. "So what do you say, Whiskers? You want to become the bride of the greatest bandit to ever live?"

"I'd rather gouge my eyes out with my own claws, boil them, and eat them with ginger," she answered, without missing a beat.

"Ooh. Ouch. Bad luck there," Po said, wincing.

Káilí snarled, and struck her across the face. The SMACK rang throughout the room, and muffled cries came from the other side of the room, where the other four were chained up and gagged.

"Hey! What was that for?" Po yelled.

Tigress' face went from a growl to a full-on snarl. "You touch me again," she hissed, "And I will tear you limb. From. Limb."

"Oh, a feisty little tiger, aren't you, Master Tigress?" he said, seemingly undisturbed.

"You want feisty?" Tigress snarled, her eyes no more than slits. Her rock-strong arms struggled so hard against the chains that the wood began to crack. "_You want feisty?_ I'll show you feisty, you no good-"

"Okay, guys, take it easy!" Po yelped. He and the other four were staring at the two felines with wide eyes.

"Take it easy? On him?" Tigress demanded.

"Wow. The romantic tension in this room is, like, a ten," Mantis commented, whose little head had managed to get out of the gags.

"Shut up!" all three of them said at the same time.

"Hey, I'm just saying…"

"You need to learn how to control your mouth!" Káilí snapped. "Or next time, you will end up without one!"

"Well, you're the one who called Tigress 'Whiskers,'" the insect pointed out. "I mean, that's kind of suicidal. And I'm speaking from experience here."

"Actually, he's speaking from Po's experience," Crane said (he, too, had managed to get out of the gag).

"What are they doing?" Tigress whispered to Po. "Why are they making him angry?"

"I don't know. Maybe Mantis is-"

"Hold on." She frowned, and then said, "Po! Get the keys!"

"What?"

She jerked her head towards Káilí's waist. "The keys! They're right there!"

She was right. The keys were hanging on a loop on the Bandit Lord's waist armour. "Okay," Po said. Biting his tongue in concentration, he stretched out his foot, trying to get the keys. Mantis and Crane were still distracting Káilí. "Almost… there…"

"I'm through with this," Káilí said, turning back around. This gave Po the extra inch he needed to kick the keys into the air.

Tigress caught it with her lower paw, and then kicked it back into the air. Her aim was perfect; the keys landed right in Po's hands, allowing him to unlock the chain.

Káilí barely had time to snarl before Po 'feet of fury!'d his face. The tiger slid back a few meters before he came to a stop. Both warriors raised their hands into fighting stance.

"Po!" Tigress yelled. "A little help?"

"What? Oh, yeah!" He threw her the keys. She caught them wither back paws again, then flipped it into her hands, which were behind her. The instant she was free, she threw the key to Crane, who caught it in his beak. Within moments, all six of them were free, with their various hands/paws/wings/ tails up in fighting stance.

"You can't take us all at once," said Viper.

Káilí looked around, his hands also raised, for the tiniest instant looked afraid. Then, his smug smirk returned.

"No," he said, "But I know who can." And without wasting another second, he roared.

Everyone in the room, Tigress excluded, froze in fear. Some instinct in them told them to run and hide, making the blood freeze in their veins and rendering them all paralyzed for a few moments.

"That's low!" Tigress snarled. "That's low, you coward!"

But the damage was done. Nearly four dozen guards had poured into the room at the signal, their weapons drawn.

"Six masters versus forty trained soldiers," the Bandit Lord compared. "Not good odds, if I may say so myself."

"Don't let them separate us!" Tigress ordered.

"She's right!" said Po, who had reemerged from his stupor. "If we get separated we don't have a-"

"A chance? Really, Po," Káilí said, chuckling. "What on earth ever gave you the impression you had a chance in the first place?"

The soldiers began to circle around them, pushing them closer and closer to the wall. Po glanced back and forth, trying to find some way out of this-

But there wasn't one. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see a way out. Not without fighting every single wolf and boar in that room.

"Attack," the Bandit Lord ordered.

"Oh no," Po barely had time to say, before the masses were upon them.

The panda flipped one wolf over his shoulder while punching another in the face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Crane flying above the guards and trying to gouge at their eyes, before a boar pulled him back down to the earth.

Monkey had somehow managed to get ahold of a sword and, as the weapons master of the group, was trying to fend of six different soldiers at once.

Mantis was fighting well, but was becoming overtaken by five people a hundred times as big as him.

Viper twisted and turned like a whip, but she could only slip through so many different paws before one caught her around the middle.

Tigress, the most skilled of the six, was trying to fight a total of ten different bandits/guards on her own. She shouted "HEIS!" and kicked away two of them, only to have a third catch her foot. "Don't let them corner you!" he heard her yell.

Po kicked boar in the face while back-fisting another. Someone caught him by the hand. "Tigress, help!"

"KYAH!" The feline flipped out of the circle of wolves around her and managed to free him, before more separated them once again.

"We can't fight them all!" Viper shouted, wrapping her tail around the neck of the boar holding her and choking him. She was right. They had only a few minutes, if that, before sheer numbers would overwhelm them completely.

"We need to get out!" Po shouted.

He saw Tigress, ever the strategist, glance back and forth between blows, searching desperately for a way out. Suddenly, she shouted, "DOWN! DOWN!"

Without a moment's hesitation, they all ducked, despite the dangers of taking their minds off the fights. A split second later, an explosion rang through the room, and a ball of fire-hot metal demolished part of a wall.

"He's got a cannon?" Monkey cried.

"Oh, so not fair!" Po yelled, belly-bumping three wolves away from him.

BOOOM! Another cannon blew the whole even wider, flying only a meter or so over Po's head.

"Man, he's aiming for you!" Mantis yelled. "Watch out!"

BOOOM!

"Okay, that was way too close!" Po shouted.

Káilí, who was aiming the cannon, turned the barrel so it was pointing directly. At. Him.

"PO!"

The roar came just in time, before something slammed into the panda. Thankfully, it was not a cannonball, but rather one of his fellow comrades.

Tigress pile-drove him into the floor, but paid the price for it: the cannonball shot just over their heads, breaking once again through the wall. The shock-tremors rattled the building, shaking her off him and forcing her to roll off the edge of the flooring. "YAH!"

She'd managed to catch the edge with her paws, but was unable to get back up. Every time she tried to pull herself back into the room, another cannonball would break through the wall again, nearly shaking her loose.

"Tigress, hold on!" Po yelled.

"THANKS FOR THE TIP!"

BOOOM! Another blast echoed through, leaving her hanging by just one hand. She twisted and flailed, which unfortunately gave her a good look at the swirling waters of the moat, far below. An unintended scream tore from her lips. "AAAH!"

"Po, help her!" Crane yelled. "We'll cover you!"

"Tigress! Give me your other paw!" shouted Po. He was laying flat on his belly, just barely on the edge, both hands stretched out while the other four were struggling to keep the boars and wolves away from him.

"Are you insane?" she yelled. "You can't hold me; I'll drag us both over!"

"No you won't! Just give me your paw!"

"Po! Hurry!" Monkey yelled. They were being pushed farther and farther back, so far that they were almost over the edge.

She glanced down at the waters, then back up at him, dead in his green eyes. Without another moment's hesitation, she reached up with her other paw and latched onto his.

It almost worked. Almost.

At the very moment her paw shot up, another cannon blasted through the wall nearby. The shaking from the blow sent the others stumbling over the ledge, whereas her hand shot up too far, grabbing at his shoulder. Then unbalanced weight pulled Po over the edge.

"AAAAAH!" the panda screamed. Just as he was yanked over, he caught a glimpse of Tigress' scarlet eyes.

They were open wide with terror, but there was also a hint of- of _determination_ in there. An instant later, she kicked him mid-air into the side of the wall, before they both plummeted towards the icy waters below.


	13. Scene 12 The River

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**A/N: This is going to be short; it's mainly a finisher to the last chapter, to show you how they get where they do in the next chapters to come. Bear with me here, please.**

**Moat**

SPLASH!

Po hit the water hard. The slanted sides of the Palace walls had slowed his descent, but not enough. The icy liquid felt like a thousand icy knives stabbing into his skin all at once.

The water carried him along, tumbling him over and over in the currents. The moat, fed by the river that ran along this side, soon flashed by as the river pulled him out of the Thief Empire altogether and into uncharted territory.

He surfaced again, choking and gasping for breath, before he was dragged down again by the undertow. Moments later, he popped up again, sucking in lungfuls of air.

He looked around, trying to keep his head above the others. "GUYS?" he yelled.

No one answered. It wouldn't have mattered if he did; the rushing of the water and the booming of thunder drowned him out. Lightning flashed overhead, the downpour of rain drilling into the water like arrows.

"GUYS!" Po yelled again desperately, swallowing about a liter of water. He looked around wildly, but the growing waves blocked his vision and twisted the world into a confused jumble of water and sky.

Why was the water going so fast? No river should have a current this strong. The rapids had turned from a series of rocks into dangerous miniature falls. The swollen river had burst its banks in the sudden storm, and the current was like a rope, pulling at him with such ferocity that he felt like he was falling.

Falling-

Rapids. Current. River.

Falls.

He strained to see over the waves, and, far ahead of him- but quickly getting closer- saw a point where the river just stopped.

Or dropped.

"Waterfall," Po said, to himself. And then louder, "GUYS! THERE'S A WATERFALL! A WATERFA-" He choked on water as it slammed into his open mouth.

Looking around desperately, he realized that none of the others were above the water. And if they weren't above it-

He sucked in a huge breath and dove deep, plunging below the surface. Opening his eyes underwater, he searched the murky, muddled water for any sign of his friends.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of blue and green. Crane, whose ability to fly had slowed his unplanned descent, was entangled with Viper. Both were unconscious, maybe even dead.

Po tried to swim against the current to get to them, which of course didn't help. So he angled his body and made his way over to the pair. Grabbing Crane by the wing, he tried to hang on while look for others.

Monkey and Mantis (who was being held in the primate's fist), also unconscious, were be dragged by the current towards the falls. He swam forward and grabbed Monkey by the tail.

He managed to struggle and force himself and the four to the banks. He pushed them on, then went back into the strongest part of the river.

He dove even deeper than before, his eyes searching through the blurry water for any hint of orange or red. They quickly scanned back and forth, desperate, frantic. Where was she? Where was Tigr-

There! Farther down, he saw Tigress, nearly unconscious, her legs and arms struggling feebly in a last futile attempt to get air into her strangled lungs. Then, the movement slowed, and finally stopped.

"NO!" he yelled, forgetting that he was underwater and no one could hear him. He began to swim forward, the current helping him along.

The waterfalls were getting closer, he could feel it. They were close to the edge, too close.

Yes! He grabbed hold of Tigress' arm and began to try to get out of the main part of the river. But the current was too strong, dragging them to the end.

He surfaced again, trying to figure out where they were. He could see the flecks of white that came from the spray drawing closer- and closer-

With a strength he didn't know he possessed, he swam for the edge, struggling to get to the banks. Holding Tigress over his shoulder, he fought the current with all his might, until with the feeling of release from the tension, he got into the shallower, slower part of the river.

It was still a fight, but it was easier now. Just ten meters from the edge of the falls, he dragged himself and Tigress onto the banks. He laid her down, not even sure if she was alive. He barely had time to realize that _he_ was even alive, before he collapsed to the ground beside her. He blinked once, slower the second, and finally closed his eyes and blacked out.

This was why he did not see the black and white beings that began to circle around the two of them, like silent ghosts of a forgotten memory.


	14. Scene 13 Waking Up

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**A/N: One hundred reviews! Oh my goodness, thank you guys so much! I seriously don't know what to say! ALMOND COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! ({})({})({})({})({})({})({})({}) **

**Uncharted Territory**

Po mumbled something and opened his eyes. He looked around and found himself in a small house.

Confused at what he saw, he said, "Huh? How did I get…"

"Here?"

He looked to his left, surprised. A panda woman, maybe about thirty-five years old, was sitting on a large stool.

His eyes went _very _wide at seeing another panda. "But- wait- you're a panda!"

"Yes."

"So, uh… am I dead or something?"

She laughed. "No, you're not dead. One of our scouts found you and your friends on the side of the river, up at the top of the cliffs." She pointed to his right, and he looked. Tigress was beside him, followed by Viper, Crane, Mantis, and Monkey.

"But… I thought all the pandas were dead," he said, almost to himself.

"Not all of us. Some of us escaped Lord Shen's genocide… not many, but enough. We escaped Gongmen City, traveled north, and have been living here ever since."

"Living where?"

She walked over to the door and opened it. Po heard laughter and stood up. He walked over beside the other panda and looked out.

They seemed to be in a valley, small but very green. Farmers were plowing the land, while children ran to and fro, watched by their parents in the fields. The river that came from the waterfall bubbled through the tiny village, and Po counted ten, no, twenty, no, over thirty pandas in all!

"Wow," he whispered to himself. It had been so long since he'd seen anyone else of his race, and from a month ago up until today, he'd believed himself to be the sole survivor of his species. "So… how many people are here?"

"Thirty-six. Thirty-seven if you count the baby Ching Lan's going to have in a few weeks," she answered proudly. "My name is Bao Yu. What's yours?"

"I'm Po. Po Ping."

Her eyes went wide. "Po Ping? Really?"

"Uh… yeah. Why?"

She smiled and pulled him into a hug. Surprised, Po hugged you back.

"We all thought you were dead!" Bao Yu said. "But a month ago, Chéng-gong- he's our leader- had a vision that you were alive! That you were living with someone named 'Mr. Ping!'" She hugged him even tighter. "It's been so long, little cousin!"

His mouth dropped open as she drew back, smiling. "Whoa, whoa, wait," he said, stunned. "_Little cousin?_ You mean, I've still got family alive here? And you're one of them?"

"Yes, of course! Didn't I tell you? Chéng-gong, he's your father!"

"My father…" Po said slowly. "You mean, my dad's still alive? I thought Shen killed him."

"No, but it was close. He barely got out alive. When he found us hiding in the fields, he said we had to get away. The town mayor had already been killed." She closed her eyes, grimacing in pain. "The genocide… it was horrible.." Her voice shook and died. Then, she opened her eyes again. "But we survived! Chéng-gong led us here. It took many months, but we eventually found a place we could live in safety."

"Wow," Po said again. "That's… awesome."

"Po?" a voice said behind him. He turned and saw that Viper had awoken. "Po, where are we?"

"Yeah," Monkey asked. He, too, had woken up, along with Crane and Mantis. "Where is this? And who's she?" He pointed one of his front legs at Bao Yu.

"We're- I mean-"

"You're in the panda village," Bao Yu supplied. "We're the survivors of Shen's genocide. And it's thanks to all of you that he'll never hurt us again."

"It was nothing," Mantis said. "Seriously, we didn't do anything. It was all Po."

"Aw, no, it was you guys, too-"

"Stop being modest," Crane said, walking over to Po and whapping him in the head with his feathers. He looked over at the still-unconscious feline. "Hey, is Tigress all right?"

"She got a lot of water in her lungs," Bao Yu said. "If she'd breathed any more in, we wouldn't have been able to save her."

"Hey… who pulled us out?" Mantis asked. "Did you, uh-"

"Bao Yu."

"Yeah. Did you get us out of the river?"

"No," she answered. "One of our scouts found you on the banks. That must've been someone else."

"Well, it wasn't me," Mantis said.

"Me neither," Monkey agreed.

"Not me."

"I don't have any arms."

Everyone looked over at Po, the only one who hadn't spoken. He went a little red. "I was the only one awake after we fell in," he supplied.

"That's strange," Crane said. "A fall like that should have knocked you out like the rest of us… Did something slow you down?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Tigress kicked me into the wall. You know, of the moat? It was slanting, so I guess I kind of slid down it." He looked over a the sleeping tiger. "I guess it's good she's unconscious, anyway. This is the first time she's slept in, like, for_ever_."

"What?" they all said at the same time.

"Yeah. Didn't you guys notice?"

"No," Viper said. "This is bad. Very bad."

"Really? I thought she always stayed awake at night. You know, nocturnal?"

"But she has to sleep _sometime_," Crane said. "So you mean she hasn't been sleeping _at all_?"

Po shook his head. "Why's it such a big deal?"

"It's a big deal," said Monkey, "Because when Tigress stops sleeping, it means she's having nightmares."

"Really?" Po said, shocked. "Tigress gets _nightmares_?"

"Not anymore. She used to, back when we were younger," Viper said. The others all agreed. "They haven't happened for over a decade and a half… And I think I know what's causing them." She looked at the others, and they all nodded. "Po, there's something we need to tell you."

"Okay…" He glanced over at Bao Yu. "No offense or anything, but if you could-"

"Oh, no trouble. I'll be on my way." She smiled and left.

"So what's up with Tigress?" Po asked, turning back to the others.

"It's kind of a long story," Mantis said.

"Po… what you've got to understand is that Tigress never gives up," Viper began. "Never. She's got a fighting spirit."

"Yeah, I know-"

"No, you don't," said Crane. "Tigress… her entire life is devoted to her country. To the people of China. It's who she is, what she does."

"I remember once, we were in this really big fight, down in the village," Monkey said. "It was real bad; there were like sixty of them and only five of us. We were getting our butts kicked."

"Even Tigress was getting beat, and she was our best fighter," remembered Crane. "She was fighting her hardest, but she was still losing ground fast. We all were; we had seconds before they overwhelmed us."

"Then, all of a sudden, we heard these screams," Monkey continued. "We didn't know where they were coming from. We should have ignored them. But Tigress, she took out the bandits around her, and flipped right back into this new circle. A bunch of wolves were tormenting this rabbit family."

"Tigress didn't even bother to check how many there were," Viper said. "She just… went for it. There must've been ten of them around that family, and another ten went for her as soon as they saw where she was."

"She took on twenty bandits?" Po said, surprised. "All by herself? That's- that's crazy, even for her!"

"Yeah," Mantis agreed. "She couldn't take them. Just couldn't. And she knew it, too. But she didn't abandon the rabbits. She kept fighting."

"What happened?" Po asked.

"She realized that she wasn't going to make it, but that didn't stop her. She kept fighting, even though staying there was suicidal. She couldn't get the rabbits out- the ring of bandits around them was too thick- so she just kept fighting. She was ready to die for them. If Master Oogway hadn't shown up when he did, she would have."

"So you see," said Viper, "Tigress is completely devoted to protecting the people of China. She'd do anything to make sure they're safe. She _never gives up_."

"Okay," Po said, still slightly awe-struck by the awesomeness of this story. "But what does this have to do with her not sleeping?"

They glanced around at each other. "Po…" Crane said. "What Viper said about her never giving up isn't completely true… she _did_ give up, once. Just once."

"Naw, really?" Po said in disbelief. "What happened?"

"She lost her best friend," Viper answered softly. "You."

Po's mouth dropped open.

"When you were shot by Shen's cannon… I don't know what happened. I remember her trying to knock you out of the way, but she didn't get there in time. After you were blasted out of the factory, she just… lost it."

"You mean, she lost her temper? Or-"

"No, Po," Mantis said, shaking his tiny head. "When Tigress loses it, she doesn't really 'lose it.' She just… loses it."

"What?"

"She lost the will to fight," Crane supplied. "She was kind of knocked over by the cannon blast, and she rolled and ended up on her knees. But she didn't get up."

"Shen walked over to her and said something, I don't know," said Monkey. "And then she just, I don't know, fell apart. Her shoulders were shaking; I think she was crying."

"It's the only time I've ever seen Tigress cry," Viper said quietly.

There was a moment's silence, before Mantis continued. "We kept trying to fight, to get to her. I think we were still in shock. Your being dead wasn't real to us yet. But it was real to her. She couldn't get up, couldn't move… and when Shen finally captured us, she just stood there, like _she_ was dead, too. I don't think she could even feel them handcuffing her."

"She didn't say anything after that," said Monkey. "Nothing. She couldn't speak at all."

"She did say 'you coward!' to Shen, after he blasted the bride with the civilians on it," Crane corrected. "But that was it. From the time we thought you were dead until the moment he started to hurt other people, she didn't say a single word."

"She completely lost the will to live," Viper said.

There was a long silence, before Monkey finally said, "Ever since we came back from Gongmen City, she's been acting strange, especially around you."

"Yeah," Mantis agreed. "We don't know what's up with her. She acts like everything's fine… And when Tigress starts acting like everything's fine, you know something's really wrong."

They all looked at the sleeping tiger on the ground. She winced ever so slightly, and her legs kicked a little.

"Is she having another nightmare?" Po asked.

"Yes. But let her be; she needs the sleep," Crane answered.

"Yeah, I guess," the panda said, though he still looked troubled.

"Come on, Po," Viper said, tugging at his pant leg with her tail. "Don't you want to meet the other pandas? I'm sure Bao Yu could introduce us."

"Yeah!" Po said enthusiastically. He grinned and walked out with the others, leaving Tigress to her dreams…

_…She raced forward, kicking and punching and tearing. She could hear nothing, not the cries of her fallen opponents or the shouts of the others. The only sound she could hear was the pounding of her heart as she flipped one guard over the other without really seeing them, her eyes focusing to a single pinpoint in her vision._

_ Closer- closer-_

_ She forced her already over-exerted body to go faster, stronger, desperate to make it before- before-_

_ "-Let me __heal__ you!" The peacock lit the fuse._

_ No. No, this couldn't be happening!_

_ Then, she heard it: the worst sound in the entire world, the entire universe. A sound that sent chills up her spine._

_ Po screamed in pain as the cannonball hit him in the stomach. "AAAAAH!"_

"NO!"

She awoke inside the small house, screaming and tearing at the blanket.

"Tigress!"

Suddenly, five other people rushed into the house.

"What's wrong?"

"What happened?"

"Tigress, are you okay?"

She latched onto that last voice and got to her feet, desperately searching the faces. Viper- Crane- Monkey- Mantis- Po-

Without a moment's hesitation, she threw her arms around the panda and hugged him as tight as she could.

Everyone stared in amazement. Po could feel the tiger master tremble, tremors racing through her skin and her heartbeat going a hundred kilometers an hour.

"Tigress?" he said, surprised.

She didn't respond, only gripped him tighter, as if she was afraid that if she let go, he'd disappear.

And then, suddenly, she pulled away. Her eyes were wide. Hurriedly, she bowed. "My most sincere apologies, Dragon Warrior. Please excuse me; I didn't mean to do anything out of conduct."

"'Out of conduct?'" Po said, incredulous. "Jeez, Tigress, it was just a hug. You don't have to apologize or anything."

"I- Yes, of course."

For a moment, Po was about to shrug off her weird behavior, before something very important hit him: since the moment she'd pulled away, she had not once looked him in the eyes. She looked anywhere but at him, as if she was afraid of something.

Or ashamed.

"Hey," he said. "What's wrong, huh? You're acting strange."

"Strange? I don't know what you mean."

He took a step closer to her, his head tilted slightly as he tried to figure out what was up. "Tigress, come on, tell me truth: what is going on?"

"I don't know-"

He looked her dead in the eyes, finally forcing her to meet his gaze. "Tigress. The truth."

For a moment, she held the eye contact, before breaking it for just an instant and looking towards the others. And that was when Po realized what he needed to do.

"Guys, um, would you mind leaving? Tigress and I need to talk. _Alone_," he said, putting emphasis on the last word.

Viper, the only one who realized the seriousness of the situation, responded, "Of course, Po," and quickly got the other three out of there.

Once they were gone, Po said, "Okay. So what's up."

Again, the tiger master refused to look him in the eyes. Instead, she turned her back to him and walked over to the other side of the house, pretending to be looking at one of the scrolls that were hanging on the wall. There was silence for a moment, before she said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

He stared at her, wide-eyed. Tigress was flat-out apologizing. Though it had happened an unusual number of times throughout the last few weeks, it was always a shock. "Sorry? About what?"

"I didn't do my duty to you as a leader."

"What do you mean? You've been an amazing leader! If I tried to make the decisions you do, I'd probably get us all killed. I mean, you protect all of us." He grinned at her. "And the gods know you've saved my butt like a million times!"

"But I didn't!" she snarled, whirling around. "I didn't push you out of the way, not the first time! I didn't get there fast enough. I should have been faster, stronger, a better fighter! I should have gotten there in time! You almost died, and it was _all my fault!_"

There was dead silence as she panted slightly, as if trying to calm her racing heart. "It was all my fault," she said again, this time softer and more to herself than to him.

He stared at her for a few moments. "Tigress, is that what this is all about? What happened in Gongmen City?"

"Of course that's what it's about," she growled. "I betrayed you. I let you be shot, nearly killed. You're- you're my best friend. You're _all_ of our best friends. Even when I treated you like dirt, you were still my friend. And in the one moment when you needed my help, I failed you."

There was dead silence for a second. "Tigress-"

"And not only that," she continued. "Not only did I let you be _murdered_, I couldn't even do my duty to the others. To China. I stopped fighting, and that put everyone in danger. I risked everything because of my own foolish actions. I am not worthy of my title… or your friendship." She looked him dead in the eyes. "If one of your duties are compromised, then a true warrior keeps fighting for the others. I couldn't do that. I let my emotions get in the way of my responsibility. And that's something I _cannot_ afford to do.

"In ensuring that you survive, I protect China from its enemies. That reputation is part of what protects the Valley. My duty is to keep all of you alive."

Here, she closed her eyes, as if even seeing him out of the corner of them was too much to bear. "I failed. I didn't get there in time. I failed you, myself, the others, China… I failed everyone."

Stop saying that!" he nearly shouted. "Tigress, you didn't fail! I was being an idiot! You _told _me to stay behind in the jail, and I didn't follow your orders. There was nothing else you could've done; you did your best!"

"But my 'best' wasn't good enough," she growled.

"Are you kidding me? Look," he said, "If you'd knocked me out of the way the first time and taken the hit, you would have ended up dead." He pointed at his stomach. "I had an iron bowl and a lot more padding than you, remember? That was a direct hit; not like what happened the second time in the harbor. And what would have happened then? We'd still have been at square one, with me freaking out because I didn't know what had happened with my parents and all, not to mention we'd be chained up in front of a cannon, _and_ I'd probably be totally losing it because you were dead. I mean, we'd _all _end up dead. And none of us are dead now, right?"

"No," she answered. "But-"

"But nothing. What happened _wasn't _your fault, okay?"

She still looked unconvinced. "But what if you'd died-"

"But I didn't, and that's what's important. Come on, Tigress, if you keep saying 'what if,' you're just going to drive yourself nuts. Nobody's dead and nobody's going to die. It's all okay."

"It's _not_ okay!" she said angrily. "I'm the leader. It's my greatest responsibility to keep all of you safe, no matter the cost to myself. If I failed that… How can I do the rest of my duties if I can't even do the one that is the most important?"

"Sometimes even the leader has to listen to her followers," Po said simply. "And no matter how much you want to, Tigress, you can't protect all of us. You have to let us do that ourselves."

Suddenly, the feline slumped against the wall, and it struck him how old she looked, as if she was carrying the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. "I know," she said, and her voice was very tired. "I know. But I told you before: I can't stand to see the people I care about be killed. And I'll do anything- _anything!_- to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again."

"Tigress, listen to me," Po said quietly. He was dead serious, which was what made Tigress look him in the eyes. Po was rarely serious, and when he was, you darn well paid attention. "Listen to me," he said again. "You did everything you could. There was _nothing_ you could have done to stop it. And things turned out okay, didn't they?"

She nodded.

"Bad things are going to happen, okay? You can worry about them until your head explodes, but that's not going to stop them. You've gotta let go of what happened, because it just _doesn't matter_."

"You said the same thing to Shen," she remembered.

He nodded. "Yeah, I did. He had a lot of stuff behind him, just like you do. But what matters isn't what happened before, it's what you choose to happen _now_."

Tigress nodded, and then said softly, "Thank you, Po."

"No prob," he said, grinning. Then, he held out his arms. "Aw, c'mere."

She shook her head. "No, Po."

"You know you want one!"

"No, I really don- OOMPH!" She was cut off, due to the fact that the panda had pulled her into a hug despite her protests. After a few uncertain moments, she returned the embrace, slowly beginning to smile.

"See?" he said happily. "I told you that you wanted a hug."

"Awww!" they heard a voice say.

Instantly, they broke apart, searching for the maker of the sound. It didn't take them long: they immediately spotted Viper and the others next to the window.

"How long were all of you there?" Tigress demanded.

"Just for the hug," Viper assured her. "But seriously, Mantis and Monkey are right, you two are adorable!"

"Not you, too," Po mumbled.

"I'm sorry," Viper said, giggling. Then, she stopped, looking worried. "Hey, you guys do know that you're going to have to adopt, right?"

Tigress face-pawed and attempted to growl, "We're not like that!" over the roaring laughter of Mantis, Monkey, and even Crane.

Though their relationship status was still uncertain, there was one thing that both the panda and the tiger were very sure of:

They were never, _ever _going to live this down.


	15. Ch 15 Author

A/N: Sorry, folks, but I have some more bad news! Due to recent technological circumstances, I will not be able to post for about a week. Sorry!


	16. Scene 14 Father

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**Later**

After finally managing to get away from the laughter of their four comrades, Po and Tigress went in different directions, adamant to show to the others that they were _not _a couple and never would be. Po walked down a road to the left that led into the heart of the village, whereas Tigress walked off towards the falls that they had all nearly been thrust off of the night before.

The village square was busy, full with pandas going about their daily business. There were stands with things to buy all along the roads; apparently, it was market day. Everyone seemed to know each other, and 'Good morning, Baojia!' and 'How are your children this morning, Chan-juan?' filled the air.

Of course, what with it being a small village, everyone noticed the newcomer in their midst, and soon the greetings turned to cries of joy. Po explained to a few whom he was, and soon the entire village knew that Po Ping, the Dragon Warrior and defeater of Lord Shen, was in the town square.

As people began to crowd around him, asking for details and thanking him profusely (both of which caused the panda to blush), a hand settled on his shoulder.

"Go on, all of you," a voice said from behind him. "Go back to your shopping."

Po turned. There in front of him was a massive panda. He didn't look fat, however; he seemed to be extremely strong. There was a large war-hammer in the belt at his side, and a tooth jutted out from his jaw. What surprised Po most of all, however, was the green grandmaster robe across his chest.

"Hey," Po said. "Um… Thanks. For that."

"No trouble," the panda said. There was a moment of awkward silence, before he bowed to Po. "It is an honor to finally meet the one who freed us from our fear."

"Aw, no, that was nothing," Po said modestly. "I mean, I was just doing my-"

Suddenly, without warning, the other panda pulled him into a hug.

Po was surprised. Usually, he was on the giving end of the hugs. Nonetheless, he grinned and hugged him back.

"I didn't think I'd ever see this day," the other panda said. He pulled away. "Apologies, I should have introduced myself; I am Chéng-gong."

Po's mouth dropped open. "You mean- I'm- you're- You're my dad?"

Chéng-gong nodded. "I am. Who told you?"

"Uh, Bao Yu. She said that someone named Chéng-gong was my birth dad." He was still staring at Chéng-gong, awestruck.

"Hmph. Well, your cousin always was a bit of a gossip."

There was another awkward, empty silence, before, suddenly, both of them burst out laughing.

"Would you look at us?" Chéng-gong said. "Acting like a pair of strangers. Well, I suppose we are." He smiled. "From what information I received from my vision, I believe that you are also a master of Kung Fu?"

"Yeah," Po answered. "Yeah, I am. Dad- I mean, Chéng-gong-"

"You can call me Father."

"Father, I'm the Dragon Warrior!"

Chéng-gong blinked, surprised. "The Dragon Warrior?"

Po nodded.

"I see…" his birth father murmured. "Po, would you mind going for a bit of a walk with me? It seems we have a great deal to talk about, and I doubt that in the middle of the market is a good place."

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

They set off down one of the quieter roads, towards the falls. Chéng-gong didn't speak for a long time, not until they were out of the town. Before they reached the falls, he led Po up a number of steps to a small shrine at the top.

"So- *pant* many- *pant* stairs," Po wheezed, once they were at the top. Both he and the elder panda sat down on the floor of the shrine.

His father looked at him, surprised. "I thought you were a warrior in the art of Kung Fu?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, I simply thought- Forgive me, Dragon Warrior, I shouldn't have been so assumptive."

"Naw, it's not your fault," Po said, waving it away. "I haven't exactly been the Dragon Warrior all that long. Matter of fact, I haven't been a warrior _at all_ very long, either."

"What do you mean?"

Po shrugged. "My dad- I mean, my adoptive dad- he owns a noodle shop in the Valley of Peace. I pretty much grew up learning how to make soup and stuff, not training or anything like that."

"Then how did it happen that you were chosen as the Dragon Warrior?" Chéng-gong asked.

"Um, I, heh… Well, see, there was this tournament to decide who was gonna be the Dragon Warrior. My dad wanted me to sell noodles at the thing, so he made me take the cart with. I didn't get up the stairs in time before the doors closed, so I was stuck outside."

"And then?"

"Well, I really wanted to see the Furious Five- those are the others- do their stuff, y'know?" He struck a Kung-Fu pose. "I tried to get in like a million times, but nothing worked. After like half an hour, I tied some fireworks to a chair."

His father blinked. "What?"

Po nodded. "Yeah, it was kind of stupid of me, I know. But anyway, the fireworks worked and I kind of… got shot into the air, and fell right in front of Master Oogway when he was about to decide, so… yeah."

"Master Oogway?" Chéng-gong said. "I haven't seen him in over twenty years! How is he?"

"He's… great. I mean, he's not here anymore, but I'm sure the afterlife is treating him awesome."

"What do you mean?"

"He's gone. He passed away about six months ago," Po said. "Right after I was chosen, actually."

"I see," his father said, looking down at the ground. "May his spirit rest in eternal peace."

There was a moment of respectful quiet between the two, before Chéng-gong said, "And how is your mother doing? Is she all right?"

Po sighed. He'd known that this question was coming. "Dad… she- she didn't make it," he said softly. "Shen and his wolves killed her."

"Ah…" said the other panda quietly. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "I thought as much, but when I found out you were alive, I'd hoped…" He didn't say anything for another moment or two, before he straightened up again. "Thank you for telling me that."

"Yeah. No problem."

"So," Chéng-gong said, back to his normal self. "How is it that you're here? Did you come looking for us, or did you arrive here by the hands of fate?"

"Uh, the second one, I guess. See, we're after this guy named the Bandit Lord."

The panda's face turned to a scowl. "Oh yes, we know about him. Our scouts are beginning to get nervous; if he moves any farther east, he'll find our village."

"Yeah, see… he kind of challenged me to a fight, so we're here on mission to get rid of him. We snuck into his Palace last night and started tailing him, but he caught us off guard at one of the towers. That's how we ended up in the river."

"I see," said his father. He stood up, and Po stood up with him. "My son… I have an offer for you."

"An offer?"

"Yes." Chéng-gong looked him in the eyes, and Po realized that his father had the same nose as him. "After this mission is over… Would you come and live with me here?"

Po's eyes went wide. "Live with you? Here?"

"Well, in your own house, obviously," he said, chuckling. "But yes, here in the village. With your family, your kin."

Po hesitated, and then said, "Listen, father… I wish I could. I mean, it's beautiful here. Peaceful. But… I'm the Dragon Warrior. I've got to protect the Valley of Peace with the Furious Five; it's sort of my job."

Chéng-gong sighed and nodded. "I expected you to answer that. But are you sure?"

Po nodded. "Positive."

"I see… Well, I respect your sense of duty, and I'm sure there are numerous other reasons for your decision, as well."

"What do you mean?" Po asked, surprised.

"Well, your adoptive father still lives in the Valley, of course, and it is your duty as a son to take care of him."

"That's true…"

"Not to mention your friends."

Po nodded. "The Five, yeah."

"Any special ladies?"

Po looked at him, surprised. "Uh, no! Of course not. I mean, no girl would ever fall for this, and besides, I'm way too busy for a girlfriend or a crush or anything."

Chéng-gong chuckled. "You really are a lot like your mother. She used to talk to much whenever she was lying, too."

Po sighed. "Okay, look… there's this girl. I mean, she's strong and smart and beautiful and _completely_ out of my league. She'd never go out with me in like a million years."

"Have you asked her?"

"Naw, but she knows I like her, trust me. I'm kind of her biggest fan."

The older panda's eyes twinkled. "Am I right in assuming that the lovely lady is one of the two who were found with you?"

Po went red. "Uh, yeah. Master Tigress."

"Is that her down there?" Chéng-gong pointed down over the edge of the falls. Po glanced down and saw said master meditating there.

"Yeah, that's her," he said, with a half-wistful, half-dreamy sigh. "She's- I mean, she's- Listen, even if I could explain how totally awesome she is, it'd take me, like, _forever_."

"Well, I can't see much from this far away, but from what you tell me, she certainly sounds like a special woman."

Po smiled slightly. "You have no idea."

**KFP**

Tigress closed her eyes and tried to empty her head of all thought, even though she'd tried that a thousand times and it had never worked. Something was always bugging her, something she'd done or a problem with the Valley.

In this case, it was neither, but rather another face. No, it wasn't the face of a panda; it was the face of another tiger.

A tiger with cruel eyes and a sneering smile, with the body of a god and the heart of a demon. Káilí, the Bandit Lord, the man who had permanently scarred her best friend.

She growled and opened her eyes. With a snarl, she slammed her fist into the earth.

"_Ahem_."

She glanced down and saw Viper about a decimeter from her fist. "Oh. Viper, my apologies."

There was a pause, before Viper said, "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, usually you notice a person _before_ you almost kill them," the snake said fairly.

Tigress rolled her eyes. "Nothing's wrong, Viper."

"This is about the Bandit Lord, isn't it? About what happened between him and Po."

Tigress looked at her, surprised. "What the- how did you know?"

Viper would've shrugged, if she'd had shoulders. "The Bandit Lord called Po 'Old Friend,' and you seem to be really worried about him. Po also said that they were in a fight once, a long time ago. So I'm guessing that he and Po were friends once, and Káilí turned on him."

Tigress didn't look at her. "It's not my place to say."

"I know, and I respect that. I just wanted you to know that I'll keep my mouth shut." She looked up at her friend and said softly, "You really do care about him, don't you?"

The tiger master shot the snake a glare. "There is _nothing_ going on between Po and me."

"Tigress, stop fooling yourself!" Viper said. "You know you have it for him, so why don't you tell him?"

"Whether I 'have it for him' or not is- is completely irrelevant!"

"Yes it is!" She glared at her. "For once in your life, Tigress, be honest with me! Do you or do you not have feelings for him?"

Tigress sighed. "I… I suppose that I'm… somewhat…"

"Yes?"

"I'm in love with him, alright?" Tigress snapped. "There, I said it! Are you happy?"

"Yes, I'm happy! This is great!" Viper said excitedly.

"No, Viper, it isn't!" the tiger master growled.

"Of course it is! You like him, you _know_ he likes you!"

"Viper," Tigress said seriously. "Po and I _cannot_ work together like that."

"What are you talking about? He's perfect for you!" She gave the tiger master 'puppy eyes,' which looked very strange on a snake. "Come on, just tell me what you like about him!"

"He's… he's the nicest man I've ever met. He's funny, cute, has a heart of gold…" She shook her head angrily. "Oh, for Heaven's sake, I sound like a love-struck fool!"

"You are," Viper pointed out.

"I- Well- That is _entirely_ beside the point!"

"Tigress, _why_ won't you give him a chance?"

"I have my reasons," Tigress said, and Viper realized with surprise that her tone was heavy. She'd always known that Tigress had old-soul eyes, but she'd never seen them look this weary.

"Tigress…" she said softly.

"Leave me be, Viper. I want to get back to my meditating." She turned away.

Not knowing what to say, Viper turned and left. She looked back one last time, to the tiger master who wasn't really meditating, and then left.


	17. Scene 15 The Message

Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**Noon**

"We need a plan," Tigress said, walking into Bao Yu's house with some ink, a brush, and a large sheet of paper.

The other five looked at her, all halfway through their lunch. "'Igress, 'alm 'own," Po said, his mouth full of food. "'E 'on't 'eed 'o pla' righ' 'ow."

"The sooner we go back in, the better," she said grimly.

"Uh, how soon is sooner?" Monkey asked.

"Preferably tomorrow night."

There was dead silence. "Tigress, I say this with the utmost respect. Are. You. _Insane_?" Viper finally asked. "We just got out! Going back in would be suicide!"

"Without a plan, yes. But if we have a plan and we stick to it, we may just be able to complete the mission."

"Last time we stuck to the plan, we ended up falling into a moat," Mantis pointed out.

"That's because our plan was a bad plan. We weren't prepared, and therefore we failed. We need a dead-set plan that won't go wrong. Not only that, we need a backup plan."

"And a backup _backup_ plan," Po added.

"Yes, that too."

"So, how do you want to do this?" Mantis asked. "We don't really have like a map or anything."

"Not yet we don't." She rolled out the sheet of paper on the floor and put the inkwell and brush beside it. "Crane, you did the flyover. Do you know what the Palace looks like completely?"

"I think so. It's almost an exact replica of the Forbidden City, but smaller." He picked up the brush and started to draw a rough outline of the Palace. Within a few moments, the drawing was complete, black floor plans on a white background.

"Po. Action figures," Tigress said, holding out her hand.

Po went red. "Uh, I really don't think that's a good-"

"_Now_."

He gulped and pulled out the small replicas out of his back pocket. Mantis, Monkey, Crane, Viper, and finally Tigress.

She took them all, and then glanced up at him. "Do you have one of yourself?"

He shook his head.

"Alright." She quickly walked outside, then came back in holding a small stone. "This is you."

"Gotcha."

They sat down and planned their strategy for hours. By the time they were done, dark had settled over the village.

"Let's go over it one last time," Tigress said. "Beginning: Viper, Crane, where will you be?"

"Breaking in through the Gate of the Western Flower," they both answered. Crane added, "We take out any guards we see."

"Good. Mantis and Monkey?"

"Gate of the Eastern flower," said Monkey. "Same thing with the guards."

"Po?"

"We'll be at the Spiritual- Spirit-"

"Spiritual Valor Gate."

"Yeah, that."  
>"Second: Viper and Crane?"<p>

"Sneak through the Palace until we reach the south houses. From there, we jump roof to roof and wall until we get over the main wall and onto the roof of the upper study." Viper said.

Tigress nodded and pointed to Monkey and Mantis.

"We meet you guys at the roof of the Imperial Kitchen," Mantis answered.

"Alright, third step."

"We all use the roofs to get into the main courtyard, then go into the Hall of Heavenly Purity, or whatever the Bandit Lord calls it," Crane said.

"Correct. And from there?"

"We break in and go through the corridors until we find the Bandit Lord's bedchambers," said Monkey.

"At that point, we have two options: a capture or an assassination," the feline said. "Listen to me: if we can capture him, _we will_. But if that's not an option, we'll have to assassinate him. Understood?" She looked around the circle, meeting each of their eyes, and Po the very last.

They all nodded determinedly.

"Good. Take a break." She stood up, then suddenly sniffed the air. "What is that?"

The others all did the same. "That's… dumpling soup, bread, bamboo shoots- still green, I think-, and… oh, wow! Almond cookies!" said Po.

They all looked at him blankly. "How," Mantis said, "Did you know all that?"

"Uh… natural talent?"

"Let's go see what's going on," Viper said. She slithered towards the door, and the others followed suit.

As Po walked out, Tigress suddenly caught his arm as the others walked ahead. "Po," she said seriously, putting a paw on his shoulder. "Are you _sure _you understand?"

He nodded, just as serious. "I'll do what I've got to do, Tigress. China comes first."

"Good." She was quiet for a moment, and then said, "You're a good man, Po, with a good heart. And that's what makes you such a _great_ warrior."

"Me, great?" said the panda, surprised. "Naw, I'm not-"

"You are," she interrupted. "A better one than any of us, myself included." She gave him a small smile. "You may have learned some techniques from me over the last few months, but it is _I_ who has learned much from _you_ about the true spirit of Kung Fu. And I thank you greatly for that."

He grinned at her. "Thanks, Tigress." Suddenly, his grin fell.

"Po?" the feline said, worried. "What is it?"

"Just, uh, wondering… y'know how Káilí was hitting on you and stuff?"

She rolled her eyes. "I think he's a little confused on the difference between hitting someone and hitting _on _them, to be honest."

"Yeah, well… other than that… I mean, is he, like, you know-"

"Po, if you're trying to make me say he's handsome," Tigress interrupted, "Then yes, I'll admit he has an… attractive form. But he's ruthless and cruel. I do not, nor will I ever find that appealing."

"Oh, okay," said Po, but he looked happy. "So, uh-"

"Guys, guys!" Monkey yelled, running back towards them on all fours. "You'll never believe it! It's a party! For _us!_"

"For us?" Tigress said, surprised.

"Yeah, and- Hey, Tigress, why's your hand on his shoulder?"

Tigress realized with a start that the primate was right; her paw _was_ still on the panda's shoulder. "I was, er, giving Po another run through on the plan," she said, hastily removing the aforementioned paw.

"Right!" Po said. "The plan. Yeah. Go plans!"

Monkey gave them a, 'Okay, I'll pretend I bought that,' look and said, "Uh, sure. Anyway, come on, you two!"

"Gotcha, Monkey!" Po said, and they quickly ran after the primate.

The golden langur was right; a huge bonfire had been set up, with all the foods Po mentioned as the main meal.

"Whoa," Po said, stunned. "This… is awesome."

"Absolutely," Tigress agreed.

"And the last two guests of honor arrive!" Chéng-gong shouted from where he was standing. Everyone cheered. "These six heroes are the ones who finally avenged our fallen brothers and sisters, and freed us from the fear of Shen's return!"

The cheering grew louder as the six's cheeks grew redder. "It really wasn't anything," Po tried to protest, but of course no one heard him.

Chéng-gong held up a paw, silencing the crowd. "We know that the six of you leave tomorrow, to complete the mission you came here for," he said. "But tonight, we wish to give you a celebration, in honor of what you did for us. All six of you helped to bring down Lord Shen: Master Mantis; Master Viper; Master Monkey; Master Crane; Master Tigress; and my son and the Dragon Warrior, Po Ping." He nodded his thanks to each in turn.

When he was done, Tigress bowed to him in the formal Kung Fu style, and the other five followed suit. "Thank you, Master Chéng-gong," she said, her head ducked. "We are humbled by your generosity."

"And we by the kindness you have all shown to us," the panda answered. "Let the celebration begin!"

And did it ever. Cheers roared, drinks served, food given, fires fed, and excitement grew as the night pressed on. After many hours of greeting old family members and meeting new people, Po found himself sitting once again next to Master Tigress on a log.

"Good party, huh?" he said.

"Yes. I haven't had this much fun since the Winter Festival." She grinned and took a drink from her cup. **(A/N: It's water, alright, people? This is PG!)**

"You'll never believe who I found. I have a little baby cousin! This aunt of mine had her two years ago and she's amazing!"

"She'll be a handful when she grows up, though, knowing your family."

"You mean knowing me," Po pointed out.

"No, I've met some of your family tonight, and they all seem to have your… enthusiasm." She smiled a little.

"What about a toast then, huh?

"A toast? To what?"

"I dunno. To good luck tomorrow? To not dying?"

"How about…" She thought a moment. "How about a toast to now? A toast to being happy here in this moment, no matter how tomorrow turns out?"

"Cool," he said happily. "To now."

"To now." The touched their cups together and took a drink of the water.

Their toast was to the happiness of the moment. And, for that moment, happiness _did_ exist.

And then it all came to an end.

Not five meters from them, an object suddenly fell to the ground. All the talking stopped as Zeng moaned, and then shakily stood up. Tied to his back was a green blanket of some sort wrapped around something long.

The goose searched the crowd. Then, upon seeing Po and Tigress, he bowed low to them, nearly tripping over his own talons in distress.

"Grandmaster Po and Grandmaster Tigress," he said. "Thank the gods! It took me all day to find you. I have news for you."

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Po said. "'Grandmaster?' What about Master Shifu?"

Zeng's head fell. "That is my news." He sighed deeply and, sounding as if he was about to cry, said, "Grandmaster Shifu is dead."


	18. Chapter 18 Abandon

Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**A/N: Ugh, I had to re-edit this entire chapter… The first version sucked.**

**Night**

"Grandmaster Shifu is dead."

The words brought an eerie silence to the village, as every sound faded away. Even the crackling of the fire seemed to fade into nothingness as Zeng went on with his story.

"Two weeks after all of you had left the Palace, I met another messenger mid-flight, who had come from the North. He was carrying a message on the same kind of paper that the Bandit Lord's first message had been written on. It was addressed to Master Shifu and said that all six of you were being held captive in his Palace."

"That doesn't make sense," Crane said. "We'd just come out of the desert by then; he hadn't even seen us yet!"

"He must have spies in the Valley that told him of our departure," Tigress said, sounding numb. "The letter was bait."

Zeng nodded. "We came as fast as we could," he went on. "We traveled so fast the journey didn't take us more than a week. We arrived early this morning and snuck into the Palace to try to find you. It seemed that a some sort of disturbance had happened just hours before, and that they were still cleaning up.

"We'd almost made it to the prison rooms when the Bandit Lord appeared. I don't know how he found us, I don't…" The bird trailed off with a shaky breath. "When he caught us, he put us into a thick, underground cell. We stayed there for hours. When someone finally came in again, it was the Bandit Lord and a troop of guards.

"The Grandmaster immediately stood up and demanded to see all of you. The Bandit Lord, he- he laughed and said 'You'll see them all soon enough.' Then he and the guards dragged the Grandmaster away.

"When the Bandit Lord returned, the Grandmaster, he was not with him! But these were." He untied the parcel on his back, unwrapping the green covering. The covering itself turned out to be the Grandmaster Robe, and the object it was around the peach-wood staff. Finally, he took a scroll from the inside of his robes and handed it to Po.

Po took it and read it aloud:

_"The final will and Testament of Grandmaster Shifu,_

_ In this case of untimely death, I have only one order of business: that my successors should be named. I appoint my legal heir, Master Tigress, and the Dragon Warrior, Master Po, as the two Grandmasters of Kung Fu in my place. To Tigress, I give the Sacred Staff of Justice, and to Po the Cloak of Eternal Peace, as symbols of their power._

_ Signed,_

_ Shifu Jin, Grandmaster of Kung Fu."_

He looked up from the will, unable to speak. The stunned silence that fell over everyone went unbroken for a number of seconds, before Tigress said, "He died… thinking we were dead. Didn't he?"

Zeng nodded. "I'm… so sorry."

"The Bandit Lord must've planned it that way. He wanted him to die thinking we were gone, and it was his fault."

Her voice was hollow, empty. Po realized numbly that she was trying to rationalize it, to think it through. Because that was who Tigress was; a strategist, a planner, a rationalist.

"Um… Grandmasters Po and Tigress," Zeng said quietly. "These… are for you." He held up the cloak and the staff.

Po took the green cloak, and to his surprise it immediately adapted to his size, somehow. Tigress took hold of the staff and held it in her hands as if she couldn't even see it.

Suddenly, they heard a few sniffs. Looking over, they saw that Viper's eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Unconsciously, Crane wrapped his wing around her.

Slowly, the crying caught on, until the other four started to cry, as well. And then, like some sort of terrible joke, Tigress- the warrior who never cried- closed her eyes silently, as tears began to trail down her cheeks.

For a moment, everyone stood there, stunned, before the tiger master turned and ran for the forest.

Po knew instinctively that he had to follow her, that if he didn't, she could hurt herself on accident- or worse, go after Káilí on her own, which would be suicidal.

He ran blindly, not sure where she was or even if he was headed in the right direction. "Tigress!" he yelled. "Tigress!"

No answer.

He ran farther still, following no certain path only desperation. "Tigre-" he started as he burst into a clearing, then stopped.

In the middle of the clearing was a long, and on that log was Master Tigress.

Her shoulders were shaking, and she was using the staff for support. A second later, Po realized that she was crying.

Wordlessly, he walked over to the log and sat down beside her on it. She turned her face away from him.

There was a long, long silence, before Po finally said, "Tigress, I'm so sor-" "I know." Her voice was choked and quiet.

"I- I can't believe it. I don't understand why it had to be _him_… "

He felt his heart twist from the pain in her voice. "Tigress-"

"You don't get it." She couldn't even look at him. "Po, to you and the others, he was a master. A teacher. But to me…"

"He was your dad… wasn't he?"

"That and more." She paused, took in a shaking breath. "Po, do you know what happens to- to women who can't get adopted from the orphanage?"

He shook his head.

"They get thrown out into the streets, once they're of age. They die from starvation and disease… and, if they commit a crime, they can be executed without a trial."

Po's eyes went wide. "_What_?"

"Shifu saved me from that. There is no doubt in my mind that if he hadn't taken me to the Jade Palace, I eventually would have died, one way or another."

Silence.

"Po, do you know why my parents gave me up?"

"No."

She crossed one leg over the other. "It's because of this."

"What do you mean?"

"My back paws are too big to bind. They always have been; even if you broke them in half, they'd still be big. Binding them wouldn't have made any difference."

"I don't get it. Why would your parents-"

"No man would ever choose to marry a woman with unbound feet… and for many, marriage is all a woman's good for. My parents gave me up because they knew I could never be a bride."

"But- but what if they didn't do it because of that? What if they gave you up because they couldn't take care of you?"

She laughed bitterly, and it sounded more like a sob than a laugh. "I used to think that, too. I used to wonder if maybe they didn't have the money… But ever since I was little, I'd have this dream of my parents. The night they abandoned me at Bao Gu."

He didn't say anything. He knew that if he did, she'd never finish.

"It was the dead of night. We were in a cart, being driven by someone, I don't know. I remember exactly what my parents looked like… My father was in the battle armour of a general. My mother was… graceful. Elegant. She had fine bones, even though she was a tigress, and she was exceptionally beautiful.

"The cart pulled up in front of the gate, and my mother picked me up and got out. She set me down on the doorstep and told me that I must be a very good girl, and not cry. She promised she'd be back in a little while, that she wasn't leaving me there. I was two."

There was a moment's silence, before she continued. "I was so confused. I couldn't understand why they hadn't come back. Day after day, I swore they'd come back. Weeks, months, years… And one day, when I was four, another little boy decided to make fun of the stupid tiger girl that actually thought her parents wanted her.

"'This is where the bad children go,' he said. 'We're the ones no one wants.' Of course, I didn't believe him. I _knew_ my parents would come back for me. I was so sure of it, and I told him so. There was an argument, a fight… I broke a few of his bones by accident. They locked me up."

She was lost in the memories now, not even seeing him. "I was alone in the dark for so long… I escaped, once, when I broke down the door, but they just made a new one, thicker this time, so I couldn't get out. And that was when I finally realized what everyone had been telling me: that I was a monster no one wanted." She turned to look at him, and Po saw that she was still crying. "No one but Shifu. He wanted me when no one else would even _look_ at me. He was the only one, the _only _one who gave me a chance.

"For years and years, I wondered why they didn't come back for me. I never said anything, though. But after you learned you were adopted, after you went in search of your answers… I started to want mine.

"Do you remember when I went on that trip for a few weeks, right when we got back?"

Po nodded. "Shifu said it was to protect the son of a lord or something."

"Shifu lied. I went to the south of the country, where my people are from. When I finally found the village I was born in, I went looking for my parents." She laughed again, and this time it was loud and harsh, mocking even. Mocking herself. "I found them. I found them in the biggest house in the town. They were the head lord and lady of the entire province."

"I went inside without even waiting for permission. I was so anxious to see them, to finally get my answers. They were talking about something in the main hall. I immediately kowtowed to them. I said, 'Mother, Father… It's me. Your daughter.'

"You should have seen their faces. It was as if they were looking at a ghost… or an unwanted visitor. I said, 'Forgive me, I have forgotten my manners. My name is Master Tigress.'

"They said, 'Yes, we- we know. Are you really our…' They couldn't even finish the sentence. I told them, 'Yes, it's me.'

"They asked me how I'd found them; I laughed and said through a lot of work. My father said, 'We'll find you arrangements for going home tomorrow.'" She was quiet for a moment. "I asked, 'Tomorrow? But we only just met. Aren't you happy to see me?'"

_Oh gods,_ Po thought. _Oh gods, please don't let them have said it._

"They- they just looked at me, as if they couldn't figure out what to make of me. Then… then my father said, 'Master Tigress, it's not that we aren't honored to have you here, it's only… You have to understand; you are no longer our daughter.'"

_Oh no…_

"I said, 'What do you mean?' He answered, 'We gave you to the orphanage; we disowned you.'

"'We had to do it,' my mother said. 'Your feet- I mean, they were simply too big to bind; it wouldn't have even made a difference. And to be frank, you were just such an… unseemly child. We couldn't marry you off. Your husband-to-be's parents had already rejected you. We had to do it. You understand, don't you, dear?'"

Silence.

"What could I say? I didn't even answer; I just turned around and left."

Long pause.

"I… Tigress, I didn't know," Po said quietly.

"I didn't want you to." She didn't look at him; instead, she kept her back turned and walked even farther away. "Po, your parents gave you up because they wanted to keep you safe… Mine abandoned me because I was ugly."

"What? Tigress, you're not-"

"Don't patronize me!" she snapped. "You think I don't see it? You think I don't notice how when I walk past, the men roll their eyes? How when Viper and I go down the same street, everyone looks at her as a woman, and me as a weapon?" She growled and slammed her tear-soaked fist into the wood as she stood up and walked a few meters away. "People abandon people like me, okay Po? They leave you behind like you're dirt, like you're _worthless_! And when you're worthless, there's no one, _no one_ who will stand beside you then!" She stopped for a moment, as if realizing what she had just said, and then said very quietly, "They abandon you… because they know you're not good enough for them."

There was a long silence, before Po said, "Is that why you wanted to be the Dragon Warrior? So you could impress Master Shifu and the others enough to stop them from leaving you?"

Wordlessly, she nodded.

"Tigress, people- people aren't like that-"

"They are!" she snarled. "They throw you away! Like you're nothing!"

"Tigress, I promise you, I will never throw you a-"

"Prove it!" she yelled, whirling around. "Prove that you're not leaving, Po! My parents promised me the same thing, and they left me for twenty-two years! Why should I believe that you're any different?"

He glared at her for a moment, and then reached down and rolled up the left leg of his pants. There on the side was a scar at least as long as her forearm.

"There," he said, pointing at it. "That's your proof. That's the scar Káilí gave me when he beat me up to impress the bandits. That's the scar he left when he turned on me. And for a long time, I never trusted another living soul, not even my dad. I was convinced that he was going to turn on me, just like my best friend did. I gave up all my dreams of Kung Fu so that I could prove to him I was the best son ever, and to make sure he wouldn't leave. I did that with everybody. And for fifteen years, I never had another best friend. I mean, I had friends. But they were just outside friends; the people you keep on the 'outside' of your heart. I never had a real best friend.

""And then I met you. And at first, you hated me. I'll give you that. But when we heard that Tai Lung had escaped and was on his way there, you stood up and said, 'Master, please! Let us stop Tai Lung; _this is what you've trained us for!_' And that was when I realized you were _exactly_ the same as me!" He looked at her back imploringly. "Tigress, don't you get it? You're so scared that everyone's gonna leave you, you forgot to make sure you didn't leave _yourself!_ You gave up everything to make sure you pleased the people around you, but you never asked yourself if that was what _you _wanted!"

"What I want isn't important," Tigress growled.

"Yes it is! Tigress, listen to me: you can stop being scared now. It's okay, Nobody's going to leave you-"

"Somebody just did." She looked down at the peach wood staff in her hands. "The first person who ever accepted me, who ever looked at me as a person and not an object… my father's gone. He gave me a chance when no one else would, and that's something that I can never repay."

Suddenly, she felt a hand settle on her shoulder. "He never asked you to repay it," Po said softly. "He only asked you to give it to someone else, and to not be afraid of not being good enough. 'Cause Tigress, trust me, you can't be any more than who you really are. He knew that, and so do I."

She turned and looked him in the eyes. He was still crying, but it wasn't as bad now.

Po pulled her into a hug. They stayed like that a long time, before Tigress pulled away. "Thank you," she said, trying to steady her voice.

"So. What do we do now?"

"We go back in tomorrow," she said, closing her eyes, exhausted.

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"We go back in," she said, opening her eyes, "to avenge Master Shifu's… to avenge him."

Po nodded. "Yeah. And then?"

She was silent for a moment. "Then we do our duty China as the Grandmasters of Kung Fu."

"Right," he said. He took the cloak and, slowly, unfolded it and put it on, clasping it up at his shoulder. The cloak felt strangely too large for him, to heavy, as if the memories of two much greater than him were embedded in the very fabric.

Tigress looked at the staff in her hands as if seeing it for the first time. The wood was hard and solid. It seemed to be stronger than normal peach wood, so strong that not even she could break it. She knew instinctively that it was a powerful weapon, but one that would only work if its master wanted peace. She remembered how it had healed itself the day after Tai Lung had broken it, becoming stronger in the process, until the point where it was unbreakable.

Po watched her weigh it in her paws for a moment, as if still unsure whether she had the right to hold it. Then, with the air of one who was resigned to her fate, she set her face like stone and tightened her grip on the wood, righting it so that she held it straight up. Stiffening her chin, she said, "We have our duties, Po. We cannot let grief interfere with them."

"You're right. Let's go back to the others."

She nodded. Just as they were about to go back, she suddenly stopped him by the shoulder. "Thank you," she said softly. "For following me, I mean."

"Yeah. No problem." He gave her a small, sad grin. "Come on."

She nodded, pulled away, and with that, the two grandmasters of Kung Fu left the clearing.


	19. Scene 17 Rejected

Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

** A/N: Hey hey hey, an update! Hope you all like it!**

**Back in the Village**

Everyone looked up as they saw the two warriors come out of the woods and into the harsh, flickering light of the fire. It took them a moment, to realize that Po was wearing the robe, and Tigress holding the staff.

Wordlessly, both of them walked over to the others. Viper was still crying quietly, whereas Monkey and Mantis seemed to be in some sort of shock. Crane was somewhere in between, torn between wanting to cry like Viper and but being unable to, so he ended up being the comforter, at least for the moment.

The four of them watched as Tigress and Po walked over and sat down on one of the logs. "What are we going to do?" Viper said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"She's right. If they've killed Master Shifu…" Monkey said, looking as if he wanted to not believe it, but found it becoming more real by the second.

"We'll do what we have to," Tigress said. "We're going after the Bandit Lord. There's no other option."

"No other option? What do you mean?" Crane said.

"If we don't stop him, he'll expand his empire in all directions, including east. These people will be in great danger."

They all looked around at the pandas, most of who were talking amongst themselves in low voices, occasionally glancing at the six masters. Po caught sight of his father.

The elder panda looked at him for a moment, his face unreadable. Then, very slowly, he gave the smallest nod of his head.

Po turned back to the others. "We've got to go," he said. "Master Shifu… if he's alive, then we've got to rescue him. And if he isn't, then we've got to avenge him. These people, they're counting on us. We can't let them down." He took the corner of the robe he was holding in his paw, the green and gold reminding him of its former master, and then looked back up again at the others. "It's up to us now."

One by one, the other four began to sit up a little straighter, hold their heads higher. And then, just as he'd known it would, that determined gleam appeared in their eyes. "I'm in," Monkey said. He held his hand out.

"Me, too," Viper agreed, putting her tail on top of his hand.

"Me, three." A wing appeared on the pile.

"I'm ready." A tiny green pincer.

Tigress looked Po dead in the eyes. "So am I." She put her paw in.

Po nodded, smiled a little. A black paw topped the stack.

**Next Day**

Po took a deep breath and tried to steady his shaking paws. His heart was beating faster than a rabbit's, and this was without sit-ups, too.

"Okay, buddy," he told himself. "It's now or never. If you don't do this now, you could be dead by tomorrow, and then you'll have lost your chance."

It was this thought above all else that forced him to move his feet and walk towards the tiger master meditating at the base of the falls.

Tigress opened her eyes for a split second as he sat down beside her, and then closed them again. "What do you want, Dragon Warrior?"

"Um, uh, well… I know it's a bad time, but I just, y'know, kind of have a question for you."

"About?"

His mind froze. _About? About what? What was my question? Um- uh- _"The mission!"

"Yes?"

"Uh- what gate do we go in again?"

"The Spiritual Valor Gate." There was a pause. "Is that all?"

"Uh, yeah! That's it! Thanks." He stood up again and turned around to walk away. Then, he sighed. "No, that's not it. Jeez, I'm an idiot… okay, Tigress, look, I need to ask you-"

"If you're going to ask me out, then my answer is no."

Po's mouth fell open. "How did you-"

"I could hear you talking to yourself a ways away."

His shoulders slumped. "Yeah. Okay. But… I just want to know: why?"

She hesitated for a moment, and then sighed, opening her eyes. "Po, listen to me, if I had the choice… Part of me wants to say yes, but... But there is another part that knows my duty. I can't say yes because… I can't tell you the reason, but believe me when I say it's very important."

He stared at her, looking hurt. There was a long, tense silence, before Po said in a low voice, "If- if you didn't want to, you could have just said no."

"Po-"

"You don't get it, do you? I've been turned down before, loads of times. I can take that. But when someone I know _lies_ to me to try to protect my feelings out of _pity_, that's what hurts the most. I mean, I thought that at least, at _least_ you would turn me down honestly. Not like all the others." He shook his head, his eyes narrowed from pain of humiliation and betrayal. "I thought you'd know get how it felt, but I guess I was wrong. Wasn't I, _Master_ Tigress?" And with that, he turned around and walked away.

Tigress watched him go, stunned, and then closed her eyes in self-loathing. Angrily, she slammed her fist into the ground.

Why did doing the right thing have to be so godsdamn hard?

**That night**

Nobody missed the way that the two new Grandmasters acted that night, as they headed for the Palace, following the river all the way to the town. Tigress and Po acted as everything was fine, but they wouldn't look each other in the eyes, even when speaking, and it was always _Master Tigress_ and _Dragon Warrior_, never just Tigress and Po. Something was horribly wrong, but what could they do? The four had learned that when the panda and the tiger were at odds, you stayed out of the way, or else.

As the night progressed, the two became more and more opposed to each other, and soon small fights were beginning to break out here and there over the course of the hour it took to walk back up the cliffs and to the town.

When they finally split up at the edges of the town, Po and Tigress went North, towards where the Spiritual Valor Gate would be. After sneaking through the path to the Gate, they scaled the walls and took out the two guards.

"That was easy," Po said.

"Yes; they must be on a shift change or something." She glanced around, and then motioned with her paw. "Come on, this way."

They made their way through the complex of buildings, going over the smaller gates and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. When they finally came to the Imperial Kitchen, they saw Mantis and Monkey on the roof.

"There you guys are," Monkey said jokingly. "We've been waiting so long!"

"Sorry," Tigress said. "The _Dragon Warrior_ here was having a little trouble getting himself over the walls."

Dead. Silence.

"So, uh, anyway-" Mantis said, but Po cut him off.

"Yeah, that was my fault. I'm just not as good as you, Master Tigress. I mean, I was totally having trouble with the _all_ walls, while you only fell off _one_ of the roofs!"

"Well, if you hadn't _pushed _me-!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that, I tripped on your _really long_ tail-"

"You've got a problem with my tail?"

"Only when you trip me with it, princess!"

You could almost hear the unspoken 'oooh's in the air. Mantis and Monkey covered their mouths in shock.

Tigress' eyes narrowed, her teeth barred. "What," she said, "Did you just call me?"

Po looked a little nervous now, but not enough to deter him. "Princess. Oh, sorry, it's empress, right? You know, because Káilí's the emperor around here." His voice went into a high, girly falsetto. "I mean, you two would just look adorable together!"

"Oh, that's it, panda!" she roared, unsheathing her claws.

"Bring it on, kitty!"

"Alright, you two, knock it off!" Mantis yelled, stopping them. "You're going to get us caught!"

"Mantis is right," Monkey said. "If _you_," he pointed at Tigress, "can't handle being around him, and _you_," he pointed at Po, "can't handle her being in charge, then we're _all_ abandoning the mission."

"What?" Po and Tigress said at the same time.

"We can't do that!" Po protested.

"We're _not_ abandoning the mission," insisted Tigress.

"You heard the monkey," Mantis said. "Either you two _get over it_ or we all get out. Got it?"

"Yeah, Mantis," Po mumbled, at the same time that Tigress muttered, "Yes, we understand."

"Good. Let's go," said Monkey. The four of them jumped from the kitchen roof to the roof of the South Study. Across the gate, they saw Viper and Crane on the other study. The bird gave them the 'feather's up' sign.

Tigress scanned the area with her scarlet eyes, which were glowing in the dark, and said, "All clear. Let's move!"

Six shadows flashed for an instant across the silver half-moon, before disappearing into the shadows.

They crept behind the two rhino guards standing at the huge doors, and then Viper and Monkey knocked them out. Quickly, the six of them stole inside, shutting the red doors as quietly as possible.

They snuck here and there along the corridors, occasionally dodging groups of guards. There weren't that many, though, which made the going simpler.

Yes, simpler. Almost too much so.

"This is too easy," Tigress said in a low voice, scanning the empty hallways.

"What are you talking about?" asked Po incredulously. "This is great! I mean, we've seen, like, zero guards, and we're almost at the royal bedrooms-"

"Chambers," she corrected, annoyed.

"Whatever! We're almost there, and we've had no problems at all!" He looked around, and then said, "There, see?" Two large, red doors were just a ways down the hall, with a sign over them that read 'Royal Bedchambers.' "We made it, and nothing happened on the way."

"That's exactly my point! It shouldn't be so simple! Maybe, if you had half a brain, you would've thought of that!"

"Me?" Po said angrily. "I'm the problem here?"

"Yes, of _course_ you're the problem here! You always are!"

"You know what _your_ problem is?" Po said, taking an angry step towards her. "You like finding a problem in everything and every_body_. Why can't you just say thing's are going well and we're lucky?"

"Because ever since _you_ were chosen as the Dragon Warrior, we have never, not once, been 'lucky!'" she snapped, her voice rising.

"Oh, so that's what this is about, huh?" Po yelled. "Well, I hate to break it to you, Tigress, but I never wanted to be the Dragon Warrior, okay? I didn't try to mess up your perfect little life! But you know what? If I hadn't been the Dragon Warrior, you would be _dead!_" He prodded her in the chest.

Before either of them knew what she was doing, Tigress had Po pinned against the wall, with his arm behind him and his stomach pressed to the hard stone. "I don't need you or any other man to protect me," she hissed in his ear. "I can take care of myself. And that's something you'd best not forget, _panda_." She let go of him and stalked furiously over to the door.

"Tigress, wait!" Viper shouted, but it was too late. Tigress yanked the door open.

"Hello, Master Tigress," Káilí said. He smiled charmingly, and, turning to the five-dozen guards behind him, said, "Take them."

**A/N: Ouch. The best friends are fighting. Po just has the worst timing, doesn't he?**


	20. Scene 18 Caught

Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**A/N: The stuff in (parentheses) is what's happening in the other cell, by the way.**

**Bandit Lord's Palace, Dungeons**

WHAM!

The panda groaned, and then tried to push himself off the floor. He was immediately knocked back down again by Crane, who landed heavily on top of him before falling to the floor of the jail cell.

There three other loud thuds and a small thump as Tigress, Viper, Monkey, and finally Mantis were thrown bodily into the dark room.

A guard ran in and chained first Tigress, then Po, and finally the rest of the others, before hurriedly backing out of attack range.

"Yeah, and good riddance to the lot of ya!" another guard yelled, before slamming the door closed.

Tigress was the first to recover. Po and the others watched as she hauled herself to her feet, wiped some blood from her mouth and walked over to the door, trying not to limp too much (her knee had been badly hurt in the fight). The guards had given them a bad beating; Po could feel at least one cracked rib and probably a broken wrist.

She checked the door to see if the guards had forgotten to lock it, and then palm-heel-struck it. Grimacing, she shook her head. "Cast-iron, two feet thick. You'd need a battering ram to break this down."

"Use Po!" Mantis suggested. When all five of the others glared at him, he said, "What? I was just kidding!"

Tigress growled, and then slammed her paw into the wall in frustration. "This is all my fault. How could I have been so stupid?"

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Viper said kindly.

"I think the guards already did that for her," Monkey said.

"They didn't beat me hard enough," she said, furious. "I let my anger get the better of me and we were caught because of it!" She snarled and hit the wall again.

"Tigress, take it easy!" Po said, standing up. "I mean, it's not just your fault; I was the one that got you mad."

"Don't be stupid!" she snapped. "I _let_ you get me angry!"

"No, I _made_ you mad!"

Everyone groaned, and both the panda and the tiger realized that they were fighting again , which was how they'd gotten caught in the first place.

"Tigress," Po said, "It's not all your fault. It's both of ours. Okay?"

She hesitated, and then said, "Alright." She looked around. "We need to get out of here."

In the almost-total darkness of the cell, it was hard to see, but soon their eyes got used to it, as they searched the floor and bottoms of the walls for cracks to aid their escape. Nothing. Crane tried to fly up to the roof to see if there was a way out, but found that the roof was much closer than he expected and nearly knocked himself out.

"It's solid," he said, trying to stand up without falling over.

"You think?" Monkey muttered.

"Take it easy, buddy," Mantis said, and the bird collapsed.

Suddenly, the door opened, flooding the room with torchlight. Two silhouettes, appearing black to the six warriors, appeared in front.

Tigress, of course, immediately attacked, not remembering that she was chained. Her feet were yanked out from under her, slamming her into the ground. Growling, she looked back up at the newcomers. "Káilí," she snarled.

"Who did you expect, Master Tigress?" the Bandit Lord answered.

"What do you want?" Po said, not really caring that he was the one chained up and the tiger could probably kill him if he wanted to.

The Bandit Lord raised an eyebrow. "No need to be so rude. All I want is a conversation."

"Fine," Po muttered. "Just great." He started to stand up.

"Oh, not with you," Káilí said, smirking. He glanced down at the other tiger to his right. "I'd like a word with this little kitten right here."

"Kitten? How original," Tigress said sarcastically.

"Would you like something more highbrow?"

"I doubt you could come up with one if you tried."

"Oooh. Nerd wars," Mantis stage-whispered. Both felines turned to glare at him.

"Insults aside," said Káilí, turning back to the matter at hand, "I would like to speak with you in the next cell, Master Tigress. Do you consent?"

"As if I had a choice," she retorted, standing up. As soon as she did so, the guard darted forward, unlocked her ankle cuff, and in the next instant had a knife at her neck. From either side of the door, two more guards came and grabbed her by the arms.

They led her out, slamming the door behind them.

There were a few moments of tense silence, before Mantis said, "Hey, what's that?"

"What's what?" asked Po, who was still trying to adjust his eyes to the dark again.

"That. Up there, in the corner. Far left."

Po looked, and surprisingly enough, a small chink of light was shining through, growing brighter with each moment. "It must be a crack into the other cell!" Po said.

"Well, someone look in!" Viper hissed.

Since he was the only one tall enough- Crane was still a little dizzy-, Po stood up and walked over to the crack, looking in.

"Yeah, it's the other cell," he whispered. "The Bandit Lord and his buddies are coming in- yep, there's Tigress." (As he watched, the guards walked her into the room, holding on despite her struggles. Every time she got close to escaping, the knife would touch her neck, stopping her for a moment and giving the other two a chance to recover.

Káilí stood to the side as the three forced Tigress to her knees. When they finally had her down, he said, "Now that we're alone, we can have a little talk.")

"What are they saying?" Monkey asked.

"Uh, he's telling her that they can talk now that they're alone."

("We're not exactly alone," Tigress pointed out.)

"And she just made her sarcastic comment."

("It's close enough. Your friends aren't listening in." He paced back in forth in front of her, Tigress watching him with wary eyes. "I have a… proposition for you."

"A proposition?" she said. "What, I bow down to you and you promise not to dance on my grave after you've killed me?"

"No. This is a bit more… tasteful than that." He smirked. "You see, I did not send that message for the Dragon Warrior.")

"He said he didn't send the message for me," Po said, confused.

("Oh, I sent it _to _him. But it wasn't a message for him."

"I know.")

"What?"

"Po, what's going on?"

"I don't know. I mean, he sent the letter to me, but now it wasn't for me?"

("You do?" Káilí said, impressed.

"Of course. Almost fifteen years, without so much as a word from you, and suddenly he receives a letter, out of the blue? Please."

"Hm. Then obviously you know about the contract?"

"The _broken_ contract," she corrected.

"Very good, Master Tigress, very good. It seems we both did our homework."

"I doubt it," she answered. "I actually went back; did you just send spies?"

"Spies are much easier to use than actually going myself. I have important business."

There was a pause, before she said, "Why don't you just say it? We both know what this is truly all about."

"You, Master Tigress, have no talent for dramatic flair."

"And you, Káilí, are a little cub that can't stand wanting a toy you don't have.")

"Po, what's going on?"

"Shh!"

(He chuckled, obviously not affected by the insult. "It's true, I'm an impatient man." He took a step closer to her and touched her ear. "And I strongly dislike not getting what I want." He let his paw trail down the side of her face. Tigress growled.

"So!" he said, pulling back slightly. "If you know what this is all about, then we may as well get to the business of it."

"Make your offer, but it had better be high. This isn't something I'll give up lightly."

"I wouldn't expect any less from the famous Master Tigress. Oh, excuse me, isn't it Grandmaster now?"

Tigress snarled. "Watch it, or I just might not agree!"

"Oh, you'll agree. Trust me.")

"I think they're going to make some sort of deal."

("How about this: I won't hurt the others … if you agree to become my wife.")

Po suddenly jerked back from the peeky-hole. "What?"

"Po!"

"What happened?"

("Not good enough. I want more.")

"Po, what's going on?"

("That's a very generous offer, Master Tigress. What more could you possibly want?")

"Po!"

(She pulled her teeth back into a snarl and, yanking her arm free of the guard's grasp, reached up and grabbed him by the fur on the side of his face, bringing him close. "A promise," she hissed. "A promise on your eternal soul to let them leave without being harmed or captured again for at least one hundred li.*")

"PO!"

(Káilí froze for a moment, obviously intimidated, before he laughed and knocked her hand away. "You're a hard bargainer, Master Tigress. But I accept." He smirked. "You see? I always get my way in the end."

"Swear it," she ordered. "On your eternal soul, swear it!"

He chuckled. "As you wish." He raised his right paw. "I, Káilí, the all-powerful Bandit Lord, do so swear on my eternal soul to allow Masters Viper, Mantis, Monkey, Crane, and Grandmaster Po, to leave unharmed and to not pursue, nor send any in pursuit, for at least one hundred li, in exchange that Master Tigress agree to become my wife until the end of times, unless either of us breaks our promise, in which case this vow becomes null and void." He put his hand down. "Your turn."

One of the guards released her right arm again, and she lifted it. "I, Grandmaster Tigress, do so swear on my eternal soul to bind myself in marriage to the Bandit Lord, in exchange that he allow Masters Viper, Mantis, Monkey, Crane, and Grandmaster Po, to leave unharmed and not to pursue, nor send any to pursue, for no less than one hundred li. This vow is solid and binding unless either of us breaks our promise, in which case this vow becomes null and void."

The Bandit Lord smirked. "The wedding will take place tomorrow, so I suggest you get your rest. And remember: you've sworn it on your eternal soul. I wouldn't break that, if I were you." He turned and walked towards the door, before glancing back at the guards. "Bring her back to the other cell."

"Yes, sir," the said in unison. He left.)

Po backed away from the crack in the wall, stunned. "No. No way."

"Po, what's going-"

The door opened, and Tigress was forced back through and chained again. The door closed and clicked into locked.

"Tigress, what happened?" Crane said.

"What was going on in there?"

"Tigress!" Po yelled. She stopped trying to answer the other's questions and looked up at him.

"Po? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong? How can _you_ marry _him_?"

The room went dead silent.

"I have no choice," Tigress said finally, flatly.

"What do you mean, you have no choice? You had every choice! You could've said no!"

"You think I wanted to say yes?" she demanded.

"Wait a minute, what's going on?" Mantis asked.

Both Po and Tigress stopped arguing and looked at him. The other three slowly gathered behind him, also looking for answers.

"I've agreed to marry the Bandit Lord in exchange for your freedom," Tigress said finally.

"What?"

"Tigress, why-"

"How did you-"

"Enough!" she snapped. "Enough. I've made my decision; there's nothing that can be done now."

"But-"

"Nothing can be done," she repeated. "I will be married tomorrow, and you will be let free. You will have one hundred li to get away safely; from that point, everything is fair game. Understood?"

There was a hopeless kind of silence as everyone nodded. "Oh, Tigress…" Viper said.

"There was no alternative. What's done is done." She was quiet a moment, and then said, "Everyone, get some sleep; you're going to need it."

Slowly, one by one, they all lay down. Po didn't think he'd ever fall asleep, but, exhausted as he was, he only caught one last glimpse of Tigress' glowing red eyes before he fell into deep, black sleep…

**KFP**

…It was hours later when he woke again, his eyes opening blearily and looking around the cell. None of the others were awake.

None but one.

He sat up besides her, moving quietly so that he wouldn't wake up the others. Tigress glanced at him for a moment, and then went back to staring at the wall.

A long silence passed, before he suddenly said, "Are you scared?"

She looked at him. "What?"

"Are you scared to get married?" he repeated.

"I've told you before: I'm afraid of nothing."

"Yeah." He shifted slightly. "But I know you were lying."

She was silent.

"There has to be another way out of this-"

"There isn't another way."

"Why do you keep saying that?" he demanded.

"Because it's the truth!"

"Tigress, you _can't_ marry him!"

"And why not?"

"Because- I mean, because-" Frustrated, he gave up and, throwing caution to the winds, took her cheek in his paw and kissed her.

This kiss was nothing like the kiss in the storage room. This was softer, sweeter. After a few moments, Po pulled away, blushing red with embarrassment. He looked away. "Sorry. I… shouldn't have done that."

"No, it's- it's fine," she said, stunned.

An awkward silence fell over them for a few seconds, before Po said, "Aren't you going to hit me now?"

"Hit you? What for?"

His mouth dropped open. "Tigress, I just kissed you. _Kissed you_."

"I'm well aware."

"Well…" He gestured towards himself. "Go on! Hit me! I mean, I kind of deserve it."

"I'm not angry."

"Yeah, see? I knew you wanted- wait, what?"

"I'm not angry," Tigress repeated calmly, as if they were talking about the weather.

He stared at her, and then frowned, holding up three fingers. "Okay, Tigress, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"I'm not crazy, Po, and I'm not angry."

"Wait. Let me get this straight. I just kissed you, The Master Tigress, and you don't want to claw my eyes out."

"That sounds about right." She glanced away. "As a matter of fact, I-" She coughed and didn't finish.

There was a moment of silence, before Po said in disbelief, "Are you trying to tell me that you actually _liked_ it?"

"Perhaps."

Another long silence passed, and then he said, "How long?"

"Since Shen shot you with the cannon." She wasn't looking at him. "That was when I realized how much you meant to me… how much I'd lost."

"Then, yesterday, when I asked you-"

"I truly did want to say yes, Po. But I couldn't, and I'm afraid I didn't do that good of a job explaining myself."

"Not really," he agreed. "But… I guess I kind overreacted, huh?"

"A little," she admitted.

"It's just…" He seemed to struggle with his words for a moment, before he said, "Listen. Girls have turned me down more times than I can count. Some of them were really mean about it, and that hurt, but nothing ever hurt as much as when they'd lie to protect my feelings. I mean, they didn't even see me as another person; more like a little kid. It was like they thought I was too dumb and stuff to know that they didn't like me back, and that hurts, y'know?"

She nodded.

"So, when you turned me down like that, I thought… I thought you were just like the rest of them. I thought that _you_ thought I was just a fat, stupid panda that didn't get it. And Tigress, I mean… you're my hero." He looked away, going even redder than before. "So yeah, when you said that, I thought that you thought all those things about me."

"I didn't know," she said. "Po, I'm- I'm sorry."

"Naw, it's fine." He was silent for a moment, and then said, "So why did you say no? I mean, if you, y'know, actually like me back…"

Tigress closed her eyes. "I didn't tell you because I knew that it would eventually come down to this."

"What do you mean?"

"Master Oogway used to say that when too many of the stars line up, they're pointing in fate's direction."

Po stared at her. "Um, okay, what?"

"It means that when you start seeing too many coincidences, they _aren't_ coincidences." She paused for a second, and then said, "When I visited the Tiger Village, I found out that the cub I had been betrothed to was by the name of Káilí." Po sucked in a sharp, surprised breath. "When I asked if they meant the one called the Bandit Lord, they nodded and told me he was the very same. When he'd been abandoned on the doorstep after his parents' deaths shortly after his birth, he'd been wearing a red jade pendant with his name characters carved into it."

Po could see it in his mind: the old couple finding the tiny tiger cub fast asleep on their doorstep. As they pick him up, the blanket shifts, revealing the red jade pendant with the characters 凱力 carved into it.

"The second thing that happened was your message. It seems highly unlikely that you would receive a message asking for a fight, right out of the blue like that." She shook her head. "That's not logical, and if there's one thing we tigers are, it's logical.

"The last clue was the way he acted towards me in the tower. When he started flirting with me, that's when I finally got it."

"But why didn't you _tell _me all this yesterday?" Po asked.

"Because I thought you would become distracted and overwhelmed, just like you were when you were fighting Shen. I underestimated you." She gave a low chuckle at the irony of it all. "Another one of Oogway's sayings was, 'One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.' I'm always underestimating you, and look at where it's gotten us."

"Tigress, come on, you can't blame yourself for this!"

"I can and I will. I caused this problem, and it's mine to set right." She looked away. "By any means possible."

He saw the both determination and sad resignation in those scarlet eyes. "It's gonna be okay," he promised.

"I know," she said, trying to sound braver than she felt. It almost worked, too; it would have, if her voice hadn't broken on the end. She tried to steady it again. "I know. It'll be fine." She swallowed.

"It's okay to be scared, Tigress. I'd be scared, too. Actually, I'd probably be freakin' terrified." He took her by the shoulder. "Tigress, you don't have to do this."

"No. It's my duty. I got you all into this, so I'll pay the price to get you out. That is how it should be." She swallowed again, nodded. "That is how it _will_ be."

"You'll never do Kung Fu again," he said hesitantly.

"I know. But if I have to give up doing what I love, then at least it will be for the people I love."

Po couldn't believe it. Here was Master Tigress, the woman who on many an occasion had said she'd rather die than give up Kung Fu, ready to give up her greatest passion for the people she cared about. He could tell she was close to tears, no matter how she tried to hide it.

Tigress held her form for another moment, before she let out a strangled gasp and pulled him into a tight embrace.

Po could feel her shaking in his grasp, trembling. "Tigress…"

In response, she only gripped him tighter, as if wishing that if all this would just go away, she'd never let go.

"Tigress, that kind of hurts."

She started slightly, and then pulled away, going a little red under her orange fur. "Sorry."

"Naw, it's fine. That rib was already broken, anyway." He grinned at her. "I'm kidding!"

She nodded and tried to smile. It didn't work too well; her face seemed set in stone with worry.

"Hey, listen," Po said. "We can do this. We can get you out of this."

"Po-"

"There has to be a way. What was that saying again? The one about the stars?"

"'When too many stars line up, they're pointing in fate's direction.' Why?"

He grinned. "Why don't we start making some 'coincidences' ourselves?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Okay. What were the _exact_ words of the vow you made."

Tigress closed her eyes, trying to remember. "'I, Grandmaster Tigress, do so swear on my eternal soul to bind myself in marriage to the Bandit Lord, in exchange that he allow Masters Viper, Mantis, Monkey, Crane, and Grandmaster Po, to leave unharmed and not to pursue, nor send any to pursue, for no less than one hundred li. This vow is solid and binding unless either of us breaks our promise, in which case this vow becomes null and void.'"

"Okay, so are there any loopholes in that? Any at all?"

"No, Po, there- wait." She ran it through again in her mind. "I suppose if you challenged him openly to a fight, with an all-or-nothing reward- as in, we all go home, or we all stay- he'd have to agree. That'd exempt me from the vow unless he won the fight. But there's no guarantee that he'll agree, and in any case you'd have to escape to do that." She went through it in her mind, and then growled in distaste.

"What?"

"I can probably get you keys, but- gods, I'd hate to do it that way."

"Hey, so long as it works..."

"I know, I know." She scowled, and then said, "You'd have to use his pride against him to get him to fight you."

"I can do that." He grinned. "So, is it a plan?"

"It's a plan. A shaky plan with a lot of things that could go wrong, but a plan."

"That's all we need."

**Different Cell**

His eyes opened wide and saw nothing.

For a moment, he thought for sure he was dead. Then, he heard a voice that said, "Good, you're awake."

Shifu started slightly. "Who are you?" he demanded, not sitting up. He didn't want the attacker to have any more information about his position than necessary.

"Easy, buddy. I'm another prisoner, like you."

"And of what sort of being are you?" the grandmaster said suspiciously.

"Well, I'm not a ghost, if that's what you're wondering." He heard a slight noise, like the shifting of clothes. "My name is Hao. You?"

"Grandmaster Shifu." He looked around in the dark. "Where exactly are we?"

"The Bandit Lord's prison rooms. I think we're close to the torture chambers."

"Really?" he said, sitting up. "How do you- AH!" He let out an involuntary shout of pain, and then sucked in a sharp breath. His entire body felt like it had been pounded with hammers and nails.

"You're strong," Hao commented. "It took them a long time to make you cry out at all, and from what I heard, you didn't beg for mercy even once."

"They tortured me? I don't remember any of it."

"That happens some times. The experience is too traumatic, so the mind blocks it out." He paused for a moment, and then said, "I think they wanted information on where somebody was. Or somebodies."

"My students, probably."

"You're the grandmaster, huh?" said Hao. "You didn't look like one."

"Oh?" Shifu said, insulted.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. Just that you didn't have the green cape thing."

"The Cloak of Eternal Peace?" Shifu fingered the bottom of his brown robes. Hao was right; the Cloak was missing.

"Yeah, that. Anyways, when they brought you in here, you didn't have it on."

"Do you know where it is? And have you seen my staff?"

"No and no. Sorry."

Shifu considered this for a moment, slightly unnerved. The cloak was one thing, but his master's staff was something he did not want to lose. In any case, there was nothing he could do, so he said, "How did you get in here?"

"Me? I guess you could say I started a rebellion. Or tried to, anyway." Hao chuckled. "I was captured from my village a few years ago and brought here as a servant for the Bandit Lord. I tried to start a rebellion against him, but as you can see, that didn't go so well."

"No, I wouldn't think so." He looked around. "Have you tried to escape yet?"

"Are you kidding? These walls are thicker than a fool's skull. There are a few cracks and holes here and there, but they've been sealed and won't break. Believe me, I've tried. No, the only way out of this prison is death itself."

Shifu scowled for a moment, and then said, "I don't particularly like dying, so I guess I'll have to find another way."

Hao snorted. "Yeah, good luck, old man." There was another shifting sound as Hao presumably leaned back against one of the walls.

Suddenly, the door opened, and light from a torch lit the small cell with a golden-orange glow.

"Hello, Shifu," Kailí said, sneering.

Shifu stood with great difficulty. "Bandit Lord," he said, putting as much contempt as he could into the three syllables.

"I'm hurt, really," the tiger said. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"To put it bluntly, what do you want?" Shifu said, not caring if he sounded rude or not. "I doubt you'd be here without some sort of purpose."

"Oh, I have a purpose, old man," Kailí answered. "I just wish for a little talk, is all."

"Talk? Over what?"

"Quite a bit, actually," the Bandit Lord said, striding into the room. "First and foremost, I think you deserve to know of your demotion."

"My demotion?"

"Yes. You see, you are no longer the Grandmaster of Kung Fu."

"And I suppose you are?"

"Not at all. That title belongs to your two students, Masters Tigress and Po."

Shifu blinked. "And how, pray tell, did that happen?"

"Oh, it's very simple. You see, after we captured you and put you in that earlier cell, I took you to the torture chambers, removed your cloak and staff, and sent them with your messenger, Zeng, to inform them that they were the new grandmasters."

"Please," he said, unconvinced. "Zeng can't lie to save his life."

"He would, if he thought he was telling the truth. You see, I sent one other thing with him." At this, the tiger smirked, seeming amused. "Now, what could it have been? A personal treasure? A letter? Or perhaps… a will?"

Shifu started, and then said, in a low voice, "You sent my will?"

"You really ought to hide documents like that somewhere other than your cloak, Shifu."

"You fool!" Shifu snapped. "Now they likely think I'm-"

"Dead?"

Silence filled the room.

"Yes, they believe you to be dead," Kailí said, pacing from one end of the room to the other. "And what's more, the two grandmasters are at odds."

Shifu groaned. Of all the times for Po and Tigress to argue. "And how do you know this?"

"Why, they're here with me, of course."

The red panda's eyes went wide. "They're _what?_"

"Yes. I caught them rather easily, thanks to Master Tigress."

He closed his eyes with a sigh. "She can be so stubborn sometimes…"

"Hm, I agree. Except when it comes to the lives of her friends. Then, she's very easy to… persuade."

The grandmaster felt his blood run cold. "Persuade to do… what?"

"To be bound in marriage."

"What?" Shifu croaked.

"Yes, marriage, and to the best suitor possible, too."

"I'll kill you," Shifu said, struggling to control his temper. "I'll kill you!"

"Oh, is daddy not happy with his little girl's husband-to-be?"

"You stay away from her!" Shifu roared. "If you so much as lay a claw on her, I will tear you limb from limb!"

Kailí's face contorted into a snarl. "Try it!" he hissed. Before Shifu even had time to react, the tiger struck the red panda across the face, knocking him into the ground.

"Don't worry, old man," Kailí called back. "I'll let you watch the wedding. And then I'll kill you for real!"

The door slammed shut, leaving Shifu to lay on the stone floor in defeat, knowing that this was all his fault."

***A/N: A Li is about half a kilometer or 1/3 of a mile, according to Wikipedia.**


	21. Scene 19 The Actress

Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**A/N: You might recognize a few of the traditions in here from the wedding scenes in Family Matters. I'm using the traditional Chinese wedding customs.**

**Next Day, about 4:00 a.m.**

The door to the cell opened, and a troop of guards came in. They unlocked Tigress- who was still awake- and led her out of the room.

Po pretended to be asleep. As they left, he squinted through half-closed eyes and counted the number of guards. _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and there'll probably be more at the ceremony_. He sat up again as the door shut. "Come on, Tigress," he muttered. "Don't let your pride get in the way."

**An hour later**

Tigress sat perfectly still in front of the dragon and phoenix candles, waiting, breathing.

She knew he would come. She knew it without a doubt. He was that kind of a man; proud, gloating, and easily fooled by his own ego.

So instead of praying for a good marriage, as any girl should have done on her wedding day, Tigress prayed for strength and a good control of her temper, both of which would be needed if their plan was to succeed.

As an elderly goat lady brushed through her fur, she heard the door open behind her.

Not bothering to look back, she said in a low voice, "Yes, my lord?"

"Ah, now _that's_ what I like to hear," Kailí answered.

"My lord, you shouldn't be here!" the 'good luck' woman scolded, though she said so hesitantly.

"Be gone," Kailí said. "I wish to have a word with my bride to be."

"But-"

"Be gone!" he roared.

"Yes, sir!" the lady gasped, quickly getting to her feet and running from the room faster than she had in thirty years.

"Now that she's gone," the tiger said, sitting down beside her, "we can finally have a little privacy."

Tigress glanced at him for the first time. He was dressed in a red robe that fit his form well, and his head was adorned with a red cap and cypress leaves. Though he had on the robe, it was cut slightly short to allow his key ring, armor, and even a few throwing knives.

"You shouldn't be here," she said. It came out colder than she wanted, and she cursed herself inwardly. _Control your temper._ Her tone less icy, she said, "Why are you here… my lord?"

"Ah, now _that's _what I like to hear," he said smugly.

Tigress stiffened as she felt a claw trace its way up along her bare right arm, starting at her wrist and ending at her shoulder. She resisted the urge to shudder, suddenly aware of how little she was wearing, dressed in only the new knee-length underskirt and the sleeveless undershirt. As the claw reached the top, it suddenly flicked, and she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder.

Surprised, she looked over at her arm, and saw blood beginning to seep out and stain her orange fur.

"Oh, my apologies," Kailí said carelessly.

Tigress felt her stomach churn with anger. She knew that the cut wasn't a mistake; it was a warning.

She could've punched him. She felt her claws clench in self-defense, ready to strike. Then, she released the tension in her paws. _Play your part._

"It's no trouble, really," she said, forcing her voice to be friendly, and maybe even a little _more _than friendly.

Kailí heard the change in tone. "I'm surprised. I thought you would attack for that."

"Attack? Why would I attack? It's not as if you tried to cut me, after all." At this, she looked at him out of the corner at her eye, letting a small, uncertain smile tug at her mouth, as if she wasn't sure how to act.

The acting wasn't what was hard; she was just playing to his ego. See, Tigress knew what he wanted with her: Kailí was obsessed with power, especially the power that comes from breaking the strong. So she was giving him his fix. The difficult part was controlling her pride enough to play the woman who was slowly breaking.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said, going back to her usual self.

"You just did."

She held her tongue. "Yes, I did. But I was wondering… why me?"

"Why you?" He chuckled and stood. "How many reasons do you want.?"

_Well played, Kailí. You're good at this game. But I'm better._ "You mean it isn't just political?" she asked, standing up, as well.

"Of course not. You're… Beautiful," he said.

Tigress felt a stab of pain in her heart. She knew what he was doing. Kailí was trying to win her over with compliments, and ones that he knew she'd never heard from anyone else. No one had ever called her beautiful before, not even Po.

He was trying to make her feel wanted, and then want him, in return.

She swallowed her hurt- and pride- and said, pretending to be surprised, "You think I'm… beautiful?"

"Gorgeous."

"Well…" Here, she looked away. "You're not terrible yourself."

"Hm. Better than that fat panda?"

"He's not-!" She caught herself. "He's not even close to you," she purred, taking a step towards him. As she did, she 'accidentally' tripped over her own back paws and fell onto him.

He caught her and helped her back up. "Forgive me, my lord!" she gasped. "I- That was certainly not honorable-"

"Oh, don't trouble your little mind over it, kitten."

_Little mind? _That was almost too far. If there was one thing Tigress prided herself on, it was that she was perfectly able to form her own thoughts _without_ the help of a man. Using more willpower than she possessed, Tigress managed to grind out, "I won't. Thank you, my lord."

"You seem… much more accepting of this than you were last night," he said, sounding just the slightest bit suspicious.

"I've resigned myself to my fate, and found that it isn't as bleak a future as I thought."

"Not at all. You will have anything you desire, including yours truly." He smirked, and Tigress nearly puked.

"My lord," she said quietly, managing to somehow force the bile in her throat down. "I have one favor to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Might I see my friends one last time?"

Kailí bristled. "Absolutely not!"

"My lord, please, I want only this one thing," she said, detesting herself for begging. "After all, soon I will be bound to you, and I will not see them again."

Kailí considered this for a moment, and then said, "Fine. But a dozen guards will accompany you."

Tigress cursed inside her mind, knowing that this would complicate things, but said, "Yes, my lord."

"I will see you at the wedding, kitten."

"At the wedding, my lord." She kneeled down again, and listened as the door closed behind him.

Tigress looked back at the candles, keeping her head bowed, and saying not a word as the good luck woman came back inside and proceeded, rather nervously, to brush her fur. She pretended to be meditating and praying silently, but in all reality, Tigress could've roared with pride. Hidden in her paws was one tiny iron key.


	22. Scene 20 More than a Hug

Chapter20

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**Cell, Roughly 9:00 a.m.**

There was a click, and then the door swung wide open.

Po felt her embrace before he saw her, as Tigress hugged him tight enough to nearly break his ribs (or the ones that weren't already cracked, anyway).

"Mph. Tigress," he said, hugging her back. They stayed like that for a few moments, before Tigress drew back. As she pulled away, he felt something hard and warm press into his hands, and the softest whisper of, "Play along."

"Are you alright?" he demanded, deciding that following her orders was probably a good idea. "Did they do anything to you?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"We're all great."

She looked around at the others, who were staring at her with eyes wide as dinner plates. She turned back to Po. "Are you sure they're alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said, looking at them. He waved a hand. "Guys?"

Crane shook himself slightly. "Um, yeah, Tigress, we're fine."

There was a pause, and then everyone started talking at once.

"We can't-"

"That son of a-"

"There's got to be another-"

"Tigress, you can't go, you're our leader!" Viper cried.

"All of you, listen to me," she said seriously, cutting them off. "Once you've left, get as far away as possible as fast as possible. The Bandit Lord will release you right after the wedding, so you'll have some time. Po, you're the leader now, understood?"

"But-"

"_Understood?_"

He nodded. "Yeah. Okay."

"Good. When you get back to the Palace, make sure Zeng's there within a week."

"Gotcha."

"And don't eat so many almond cookies anymore," she said, sounding thoroughly annoyed. "They slow you down in sparring."

"Aw, come on, Tigress, I-"

"No butts, Po. That's an order."

"M'lady-" One of the guards started.

Tigress stood and whirled around in one fluid motion, a fire in her eyes. The guard shrank back. "You," she said, her voice cold and strong as steel, "Will call me 'Master Tigress' until after the ceremony is complete. Until that time, I am still a master, one whom I may remind you is perfectly capable of removing your heart from your thoracic cavity with one move."

The soldier blinked, and another muttered, "She could at least speak in plain mandarin."

Tigress sighed, though from her it sounded more like a threat to one's life. "It means your chest."

"Erm- yes. Master Tigress, the wedding will begin about one hour. We must escort you back to your rooms so that you can change."

Tigress rolled her eyes. "And so my life of stuffy clothes and boring schedules begins." She turned around looked at the others, meeting their eyes. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "You're all good warriors, courageous and full of integrity. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. Help the villagers, protect the Valley, and above all else, _never_ forget who you are or the duty you've been entrusted with. It has been an honor to fight with you all." She put her right fist into her left palm and bowed.

They bowed back. Tigress looked at Po as she rose again, taking one last, long look at those emerald-green eyes. If everything went according to plan, she'd be seeing them again, but if not-

She wrenched her eyes away from his and turned back to the guards. Without even waiting for them, she walked through their ranks, and the dozen parted to six on either side, like Moses and the Red Sea.

The door closed once more, leaving Po and the others in the dark.

Mantis, of course, was the first to break the silence. "Well this sucks."

"I can't believe she has to marry The Bandit Lord," Crane said. "She's the strongest of all of us. I mean, she's our leader."

"At least she got to say goodbye," Viper said, and everyone could tell she was close to tears.

"Yeah," Monkey agreed quietly.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, the insect said, "Yeah, you got big goodbye there, Po. I mean, no offense, but that looked like a little more than 'just a hug.'"

"Mm-hm," Po said absentmindedly. He was turning the object over and over in his hands, trying to figure out if the key would fit the lock or not, and how exactly he was supposed to unlock it from the inside out.

Everyone went dead silent.

"You mean… that was more than just a hug?" Monkey said, his eyes going wide.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It wasn't just a hug," Po said, thinking they must've caught onto the plan.

"Dude, that's got to suck," Mantis said, obviously not having caught on.

"Yeah, Po, we're really sorry," Viper added.

"Why?"

"We feel for you, buddy," Crane said, patting the panda's back with his wing.

"Feel for me about _what?_"

"Well," Viper started, "You and Tigress just got together, and-"

"We're not together!" Po insisted, panicking. "I mean, yeah, I kissed her and stuff, but-"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Mantis said. "You _kissed_ her?"

"Well, she kissed me first, I guess, but that's kind of beside the point."

Everyone stared at him. "Tigress kissed _you _first?" asked Crane, stunned.

"Yeah. But I mean, it was strategy, and stuff, so…"

"Strategy? How does kissing have anything to do with strategy?" Monkey demanded.

"Okay, you remember when Tigress and I went into the Palace alone? Well, we ended up stuck in this storage closet-"

"You were stuck in a storage closet with Tigress? How did _that _happen?"

"It's not what you think! So there was this guard outside that was checking all the storage rooms for us, and he was about to check ours when Tigress kissed me. So then he opened the door, got all embarrassed, closed the door, and when he opened it again, Tigress knocked him out!"

"And then you kissed her?" said Crane.

"No! I kissed her last night-"

"_What?_" said Viper, her eyes going even wider than before.

"Not like that! I mean, we were talking and stuff about how she couldn't marry Kailí, and then, I don't know, I just kissed her!"

Silence filled the cell.

"Listen," Po said with a sigh. "Tigress and I… we're kind of… taking it slow. Like, really slow. We're not sure yet, and everything's been so messed up lately… So we're waiting on this one, to see what happens."

"Well, I think you guys might've waited a little bit too long, because she's going to marry your ex-best-friend," Viper said, and then covered her mouth with her tail.

Po stared at her. "How did you know that? Did- Did Tigress tell you that?"

"No!" Viper gasped, whipping her tail off again. "I swear, Po, she didn't, I just guessed! Po, I'm so, so sorry, I didn't mean to say anything…"

"What's this about a best friend?" Mantis asked.

Po closed his eyes. "Okay, yeah: Kailí and I used to be best friends, but then he turned on me and beat me up to impress these bandits that said they could teach him Kung Fu. There. Happy now?"

More awkward silence.

"That's seriously the most messed-up thing I've ever heard," Mantis said.

"Don't I know it," Po said, mostly to himself. "But the point is, Tigress isn't going to be marrying anybody, especially not him. Okay?"

"I don't think we've really got a choice in that, Po," Crane pointed out.

"What do you mean? Of course we have a- Oh, I get it," he said. "You guys don't know I've got the key."

"Key? What key?" said Monkey.

"That's what Tigress was giving me when she hugged me." Po held up the key for the others to see in the dim light. "It's the key to the jail cell."

"And how exactly are we going to get it to unlock from the other side when we're still in here?" said Crane.

"Okay, so you know how there's a little light in here?"

They all nodded.

"Well, Tigress was looking around last night to figure out where it was coming from, and she found this little grate on the top of the door."

"But how are we going to fit anything through?" the bird asked.

Po grinned. "That's the coolest part! Crane, no one will ever make fun of your skinny legs again. There's just enough room that if we bust a hole in it, your leg will fit through and you can unlock the door!"

"What about Mantis?" Monkey asked.

"Are you kidding me? I can't hold a key that big, and I know I can't jump high enough to reach the locks with it even if I could hold it," the insect replied.

"So Crane it is," Viper agreed.

"But how will we break through the grate?" Monkey wondered.

"We've got an hour; there's got to be some way to do it," Po said determinedly. "Come on, guys, let's get started!"

**Fifteen minutes later**

"This isn't working," Viper sighed.

They'd pressed, pulled, and punched the grate, but still the thin-but-strong bars refused to break. They'd managed to bend them a little, but bending wasn't going to do them much good.

"There's got to be a way," Po insisted.

"What about the Wuxi Finger Hold?" Monkey suggested.

"That only works on people; metal bars don't have any chi," said Crane.

"We have to do _something_," said Viper. She thought for a moment, and then said, "Po! What about Inner Peace?"

"What about it?"

"Has Master Shifu taught you how to use it in combat yet?"

"You can do that?"

Everyone groaned. "Why do you think Oogway was such a good warrior?" Monkey demanded. "He used Inner Peace in everything he did!"

Po blinked. "So you're saying I might be able to break this thing if I use Inner Peace?"

"It's worth a shot," Viper said. Everyone else agreed.

"Okay…" Po said, unsure. "Here goes nothing." He took a deep breath, then, finding that place inside him where everything made sense, he closed his eyes and began to do the sequence.

He waited for what he knew was coming: that singular instant where he would become completely one with the universe, totally at peace. It would only be an instant, and one he would have to use wisely.

Slowly, slowly, he felt his mind ease, his tension slip away. _Almost there,_ he thought, waiting, waiting-

NOW!

Before anybody knew what was happening, Po let out a loud shout and struck the bars with all the force he had.

They shattered like toothpicks.

Everyone cheered. "Way to go, Po!" Crane said happily. He flapped his wings and walked over to the grate. Po handed him the key and hoisted him up.

Crane put the key in his talons and stuck one leg through the door, as Monkey ran over and helped Po.

"Don't drop it!" Viper said, worried.

"I'm not going to drop it," Crane answered, frowning with concentration as he fumbled with the key, trying to feel his way into the lock. "Almost- there-"

Click.

It was, perhaps, the most beautiful sound they'd ever heard.

Crane pulled his leg back through and flapped down from his perch on top of Po and Monkey's hands. "I think it worked."

Tentatively, Po took the door's handle, twisted it, and pushed it.

It swung open.

More cheers rang out, but Viper shushed them, saying "You'll call the guards down!"

"She's right," Po agreed. "Come on, guys, we've got a wedding to crash!"

**Different Cell**

"HYAH!"

CRASH!

"It's not going to break, you know," Hao commented.

Shifu completely disregarded him and tried another spinning kick. The result was the same: no result at all.

"See?"

"Well, if you did a little more than tell me it's useless, we might be able to break out," Shifu said, irritated.

"I'm telling you, Grandmaster, that's not gonna break. I've already tried."

"There has got to be a way out of- this- cell!" Shifu said, striking the door each time, getting more frustrated by the moment.

Sighing, he slumped against the wall, and then hit the wall with his fist, treating himself to a nice bruise. "You're right," he said, hanging his head in defeat. "It's not going to break."

_"Shifu."_

His head jerked up in shock. "Hao?" he said uncertainly.

"Yeah, what?"

"Can you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

_"Shifu, are you really giving up now?"_ Oogway's voice continued. _"Your students are in grave danger."_

"Danger? Master, what do you mean?"

_"Tigress has agreed to marry the Bandit Lord in exchange for their freedom. The gods have revealed to me that they will escape early and attempt to stop the wedding. Without your assistance, they will die, as will your daughter."_

"No!" Shifu yelled.

"Grandmaster? Are you alright?" Hao said, sounding worried.

_"There is yet the chance that you can save them. Do not give up hope. Persist, and you cannot fail. Farewell, Shifu."_

The voice faded away, and Shifu, stunned, said softly, "Farewell…Master."

"Uh, Grandmaster? Who are you talking to?"

With surprise, Shifu realized that Hao had been listening in onto his half of the conversation. "Who was I talking to? Oh, erm, my conscience." It wasn't exactly a lie.

"You old folks are strange," Hao said under his breath. "So what are we going to do, huh?"

"We're going to keep trying," Shifu said, with a newfound determination. "If the door won't break, then there is the chance the walls will."

Hao snorted. "I doubt it."

"Then you doubt a wiser man than I." Shifu drew back from the walls, studying it. Closing his eyes, he ran a small, spindly hand along the stones, waiting, waiting-

There! Opening his eyes- not that it was of much use- he pulled back and struck the wall with all the force he could muster.

There was an ugly, grating sort of sound, but nothing else. Nonetheless, the grandmaster knew that he'd been correct: there was a weak point in the wall there. Even if it took him an hour, he would break it down, and then he would destroy that tiger for thinking he could just marry _his _daughter without permission.

He would not allow it; he would not sit in a cell and let fate take its course. Not while he was alive.

His determination bolstered, he let out a sharp, loud shout, and attacked the stones once more.


	23. Scene 21 The Complication

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**About 9:30 a.m. (30 minutes from the wedding)**

Po peeked around a corner of a building and looked out. "Okay. Nobody's there. Let's go."

They hurried out into the empty streets. "Where is everyone?" Crane asked.

"Probably at wherever the wedding is going to be," Monkey supplied.

"Uh, yeah. Where exactly is that?" said Po.

Everyone looked around expectedly.

"Wait, you mean none of you know? I thought this place was exactly like the Forbidden City," said the panda.

"Well yeah. But that doesn't mean we know where the wedding will be," Mantis replied. "Tigress is the history nut; she knows more about everything than we know about anything combined."

"What?"

"She studied for years and years, every weekend," said Viper.

"Yeah, she told me that," Po remembered. "But so what you're saying is that none of you have any idea where we are?"

They shook their heads.

"Not to sound like the nagging female, but why don't we ask for directions?" Viper suggested.

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" said Mantis sarcastically.

Viper smiled.

**KFP**

"Excuse me, but do you happen to know where we are?"

The rhino guard at the street corner looked over. "Erm- hello, Miss, uh-"

"Huan," Viper said, giggling and batting her eyes. "Huan-yue. I was invited here by my cousin for the wedding." She sighed. "It's too bad that Kailí will be off the market, but-" Here, she looked up at the rhino coyly, "Not all the good men are gone, are they, sir?"

"Uh, no, ma'am," the guard said, his chest swelling. "The wedding's in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, right that way. It's through the gate of- of-" He thought for a moment, and then said, "Heavenly Purity. I think. And then past the Hall of… Preserving Harmony? Yeah, that's it."

"Thank you," Viper said sweetly. "Now, for your help, I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes!"

The guard was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so he closed his eyes and smiled like a little kid about to get candy.

He heard a "KYAH!" and felt pain explode across his left temple, before he lost consciousness.

**KFP**

"Well, that worked," Viper said innocently, looking at the KO'd rhino on the ground.

"Of course it worked!" Po said. "You were all, _I'm a poor helpless girl, and you're a big, strong rhino. Will you please help me before I use my awesome Kung Fu skills to knock you out?_"

Viper giggled. "That's the great thing about being a female warrior. The men never know what hits them."

"Oh! Oh! Let me take a guess!" Mantis said sarcastically. "How about… a big green tail that's taller than I am and likes to squeeze me half to death in sparring?"

"You're just jealous because you have no sense of subtlety," Viper said. Mantis harrumphed.

"So. Does anyone know where Tigress is right now?" said Crane. "It'd be easier to get her out before the wedding than during it."

Everyone sort of shrugged. "Tigress would know where the brides are before the wedding, but then again, Tigress is there, so…" Monkey said, trailing off.

Po looked over the walls of the nearest gate, as if hoping he could somehow catch a glimpse of her. "I hope she's alright…" he said to himself.

**KFP**

Tigress remained silent as she was dressed in the red and gold robes. She knew that by the time the lady-in-waiting was done, she'd be a beautiful, blushing bride.

Well, minus the blushing.

"Hello, kitten."

She didn't even bother looking at him. "You really should stop coming in like this; the ladies-in-waiting will get annoyed."

The lady-in-waiting present whimpered.

"I doubt that." Tigress felt a paw trace its way along the back of her neck to her ears. She tensed.

The claw pulled away "Now, kitten, don't make this hard on me. I thought you were looking forward to this?"

"I look forward only to saving my friends."

Kailí chuckled. "And what a pity that is."

"It's not-" She stopped, and then slowly, said, "Why is it a pity, my lord?"

"Why, because they won't survive the night."

Her blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"

This time, the tiger full-out laughed. "You foolish girl!" he said mockingly. "Did you actually believe I would let them go?"

"You swore it!" she hissed, whirling around. The thread in the robe tore, and the lady-in-waiting squeaked. "You swore it on your eternal soul!"

"What do I care about that spiritual nonsense?" Kailí said, unconcerned.

"You-"

"You really are stupid, aren't you?" said the Bandit Lord. "Stupid and vain, as most women are."

"You're one to talk, you son of a-"

Again, he cut her off. "You really thought that message was just for you? Idiot. That was for both you _and _the Dragon Warrior. It's the ultimate triumph over an opponent: kill him and take his woman as your own."

"I'm nobody's woman!" she spat.

"No? Well, wait a few hours, dearest, and then you'll be completely and absolutely mine." He smirked. "You thought you burned my blueprints, didn't you? You stupid girl; those blueprints were merely beginning models, stolen from that pathetic Lord Shen. I have developed a weapon far greater than his."

She felt her heart catch in her throat. A weapon better than Shen's cannon? Not possible. A morbid sense of interest drove her to ask, "What is it?"

"Well, your small mind wouldn't understand the full mechanics of it, but I'll give it to you as simply as I can: imagine a small canon, held in one's hand. It's faster reloaded, faster fired, more deadly and able to kill many at once."*

"How is this possible?" she said, her voice low.

"It shoots small stones out at such high speeds that nearly anything it hits, it punctures. You can't catch it or it goes through your hand. You can't block it, or it drills into your arm. Kung Fu is defenseless against it."

Tigress was grinding her fangs into dust in her mouth. "You-!" She caught herself. "You can't!" she cried, forcing herself not to cuss him out.

"Oh, but I can." He smirked. "Now, isn't this a pretty picture? The defeat of my enemy, the claiming of my true title, and taking the one woman everyone thought to be unable to claim as my own."

That was when she finally got it. Everything finally made sense to her: Kailí had been toying with them all along. He could've killed them whenever he wanted; he wouldn't have had to send out troops to beat them on the road. He could've shot her through with his weapon anytime he so pleased, or tortured the others with it. His entire strategy had been planned out in his head from the very beginning, playing on their foolish pride and sense of integrity, and summarizing in a conclusion that would inflict as much pain as animally possible for both the survivors and the victims.

In normal circumstances, Tigress could've come up with a counter-strategy. Given enough time, she could've figured out how to beat him, then destroyed his weapon. But she had no time. She had fifteen minutes. If she and the others even had a hope to escape, her plan would have to work flawlessly.

And if there was one thing the tiger master knew, it was that anything that involved the words _strategy, wedding, and Po,_ did not go over 'flawlessly.'

To put it quite simply, they were all totally, absolutely, and royally screwed.

**A/N: I know you guys were all expecting the wedding, but I had to introduce the inevitable complication: China, welcome to the world of firearms.**

***The first records of a Chinese firearm were in the Yuan dynasty ****(1271 - 1368), and was invented by Huo Chong. It was called the Shooting Fire Weapon, according to ****http: /www. travelchinaguide. com/intro/f ocus/weaponry-post. htm**


	24. Scene 22 The Wedding

Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**Fifteen minutes until the wedding.**

Kailí smirked as he saw the other tiger's eyes narrow in confusion and anger, darting back and forth, as if looking for some sort of plot to escape. "So weak," he sneered. "So pathetic. I suppose I expected too much from a woman, didn't I, Tigress?  
>"Master," she corrected instantly.<p>

"Hm?"

"It's Master Tigress. And I'd advise you not to forget that."

He laughed haughtily. "And why not? It's not as if you could do anything. You're completely defenseless."

"And you're a cowardly child pretending to be a man."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Watch yourself, kitten; you have no idea what I'm capable of."

That was it. Her red eyes blazing with fury, she walked towards him, until they were nose to nose. "Look me in the eyes," she hissed. "Look me in the eyes, and you'll know that I don't lie."

He looked, and found that he was unable to break away, so was the intensity of her fiery gaze. The feline was telling the truth: whatever she was about to say, she meant it with every fiber of her being.

"You know nothing of strength or bravery. You know nothing of what it means to win a fight. You know nothing about Kung Fu. You say I'm defenseless?" she laughed, low and mocking. "You're nothing but a fool. You think you've beaten me? You've beaten no one, and I warn you, _my lord_: you have no idea what _I _am capable of."

Kailí took a step back, and for a moment, she saw terrified, desperate fear flash across his eyes. Then, he whirled around, and stalked out of the room.

With a sigh, Tigress walked over and sank into a stool by the window. The lady in waiting came up to her. "Um… Master Tigress?" the girl said softly.

Tigress looked at her. She was young; probably no more than ten or eleven years of age. "Yes, erm-"

"Xiao-xing," the girl said shyly. **(A/N: "Morning star." It's pronounced 'shao shing.')** She was a small lynx, with whitish-silver fur and rather large paws. Tigress blinked suddenly as she realized that, with training, the girl would make a fine warrior. "Are… are you alright?"

"I'm- I'm fine." She took a steadying breath, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, as if she was meditating.

Xiao-xing pursed her lips with worry. "No, you aren't," she said softly. "Master Tigress, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's- noth-" She felt her breath hitch, and found that, astoundingly, she was close to tears.

The lynx's hand settled onto hers, and that was when Tigress finally lost control.

"They're going to die," she said, her breathing fast and ragged, the words spilling out like water through her teeth. "All of them. Because of me."

"Surely they can escape?" Xiao-xing said.

"That's the whole problem: they already have. They were going to try to crash the wedding. Po- the Dragon Warrior- he was going to challenge Kailí to a fight. But if he does-"

"Then the Bandit Lord will kill him with his weapon," Xiao-xing finished.

Tigress nodded mutely.

"Do you love him?"

The question caught her off guard. "What?"

"Do you love the Dragon Warrior?"

She hesitated, and then nodded. "I love him… more than I've ever loved anyone before. Which is why I cannot allow him to die like this. But… there's no way to tell him of the danger. If I tried to get to him, someone would notice." She closed her eyes. "It's hopeless. All five of them will die, I will be trapped here, and no one will be left to protect the Valley. Everyone there will be at risk because I was a fool. A hot-tempered fool!" She slammed her fist into the wall, causing it to crack. "Everyone is going to die, and it's all my fault… again." She put her head in her paws in defeat.

There was a long moment of silence, before Xiao-xing said, "Could- could you use a messenger?"

Tigress looked up at her. "What?"

"The guards would notice you, but…" the lynx shuffled her feet. "They would never notice me. No one ever does."

The tiger stared at her, and then said, "Could you find them in time?"

"With my nose? I can find anyone," Xiao-xing said, the tiniest hint of pride coloring her voice.

Tigress sat there, thinking for a moment, and then nodded. "Xiao-xing… if you do this, you could save hundreds of lives. Maybe more. But you will be in great danger."

"I know." The lynx looked down at her feet, and then up again. "But the Bandit Lord's soldiers kidnapped me and killed my parents, and I will do whatever I can to get back at him." Her silvery-white eyes were determined, and Tigress felt sudden conviction that the girl would be more than up to the task.

"I need you to tell them everything that Kailí said about the weapon, as best you can remember," Tigress ordered. "Tell them that I said, as their grandmaster, to run as far and as fast as they can. That's an order."

"How will they know I'm telling the truth?"

She considered this, and then said, "Tell the Dragon Warrior, 'The hard-core do understand. But I can't watch my friend be killed.' Can you remember that."

Xiao-xing nodded, and then said, "Can you finish getting ready on your own?"

"Yes. Now hurry!"

The girl took off, leaving Tigress alone in the room. She looked over at the headdress- or she thought it was a headdress, anyway. It was adorned with brightly painted wooden flowers, strings of pearls and a veil, looking similar to what she wore on the Winter Feast, though that headdress hadn't had a veil.

She picked it up, and then grimaced slightly. So. There was no escape then. This was her life. The life of an empress and a thief, the two things she had never wanted to be.

"I hope Po sees sense and runs," she muttered to herself. "Because I don't think I could take this knowing it was all for nothing." She put the headdress on, lifted the veil, and looked in the looking glass that hung on the walls.

She looked beautiful. Stunning, even. Just like her birth parents had wanted her to be. And yet, it felt as if she was looking at a stranger.

As she looked at the strange woman in the mirror, she couldn't help but think bitterly that irony always got the better of her in the end.

**(Ten minutes until the wedding)**

Po motioned to the others, who followed him around the corner of the gate. They were right by the Gate of Heavenly Purity. and were headed for the Hall of Preserving Harmony.

There were two guards on either sides of the gate. Po counted to three on his fingers, and then all five of them sprung out.

Po punched one guard in the stomach. Viper slithered forward, coiled around his legs, and Po hit him in the temple, knocking him out. Mantis, Crane, and Monkey took care of the other one. Within moments, both of the guards were out.

Suddenly, they heard a small cough behind them. They whirled around, startled; they'd thought that no one was around.

A small silver lynx girl was standing there, just looking at them.

They stared back. "Um… what should we do?" Crane asked Po.

"I don't know. I mean, we can't just leave her here."

"She could squeal on us to someone," Mantis agreed.

Po walked forward hesitantly. "Uh- hey. Would you mind, you know, not telling anyone about that?"

The girl looked at him for a second longer, and then said, "Are you the Dragon Warrior?"

"Huh? No, shoosh, of course not. I'm just- um- well- I, uh- I wanted to see the wedding?" he finally managed.

"I have a message for you from Master Tigress."

"You've seen her?" Po asked, instantly dropping the pathetic attempt at a lie. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?"

"She's fine. She told me to tell you this:…"

She explained everything to them, in a small, shy voice. When she was done, Po looked at the others, who seemed as stunned as them.

"You mean… it's like a cannon, only smaller?" he said, trying to process it in his brain.

She nodded.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Monkey demanded.

"She said to tell you…" She thought for a moment, and then remembered. "'The hard-core do understand. But I can't watch my friend be killed."

"Yeah, that's Tigress," Mantis agreed.

"She also told me to tell you to run," the lynx added.

Po stood there in a shocked stupor. "She wants us… to run?"

The lynx girl nodded.

"But- but that'd force her to marry the Bandit Lord!"

Another nod.

He took a step back, looking at the ground in disbelief. "We- we can't just abandon her here!"

"Dragon Warrior, not to be rude, but I don't think you understand," the girl said timidly. "You see, this weapon is more dangerous than you can imagine. It can kill you in an instant. There is not time to react; Kung Fu is useless against it."

"Yeah, I know, but-"

"She said it was an order, as your grandmaster," said the lynx. "And Dragon Warrior, with all due respect, I agree with Master Tigress. It is your best option. Your only option."

Po was silent for a moment, thinking. He shook his head slightly, and then straightened up. "No."

"Po-" Viper started, but he cut her off.

"No. We can't just leave her. I mean, Tigress has saved our butts more times than we can count. Right, guys?" he said, looking back at the others.

They all nodded.

"She's our leader. She's the bravest one of us all. I mean, she's always put us before herself. And now, when she finally needs _us_, we're just going to abandon her? No. No way." He turned back to the girl. "Thanks for telling us all that, but we're still going in." He glanced back again. "That is, if you guys are in?"

The glanced at each other, and then, all at once, nodded. "We're in," Crane said, with determination.

"Dragon Warrior, are you sure?" asked the lynx, looking a little scared. "It's more dangerous than you can imagine; and besides, don't you have to follow the Grandmaster's orders?"

"Tigress isn't the only grandmaster around," said Po. "Let's go." He and the others took off.

Xiao-xing watched them go, and then murmured, "I wish you luck, Dragon Warrior. May the gods be with you." She turned and hurried back the way she'd came, desperate to tell Master Tigress what had happened.

**Outside the Hall of Preserving Harmony (A minute until the wedding).**

Tigress shifted her weight slightly on the sedan chair. This was killing her. She could feel her sense of pride decreasing by the instant.

Or maybe it was just being clouded by her indignant anger.

"Master Tigress!" a voice whispered to the side of her.

She glanced down, out of the corner of her veil. There, unnoticed by even the carriers of the sedan, was Xiao-xing.

Tigress shifted the veil slightly, getting a better view. "Did they go?" she whispered.

"No," said Xiao-xing, worried. "They're going to interrupt the wedding."

"What?" Tigress hissed. "Did you tell them about the weapon?"

"Yes, but he refused to listen to sense!" said the lynx, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears. "Master Tigress, what do we do?"

Tigress closed her eyes, struggling to find some sort of loophole. "I don't know," she said, more to herself than to Xiao-xing. "I don't know."

Suddenly, the sedan started to move, as the procession started.

She was carried through the cheering crowds into the Hall of Preserving Harmony, where only the most loyal of the bandit nobles were allowed to watch. The sedan stopped, and she was helped down onto the ground, where someone led her to step over a small saddle and a fire. She glanced down at the hand leading her, and saw that it was striped orange and black.

Her muscles tensed, and the grip on her hand did, as well. She knew that this was all a message from the Bandit Lord to her: he was leading her down the aisle to the three alters, blind and helpless, like a man to the gallows.

As they reached the alters, she was pushed to her knees in front of them. Kailí bowed to the first one, the alter with the tablets of Heaven and Earth, and then said in a low tone, "Go on, kitten. Bow."

"And if I refuse?" she hissed.

"You swore it on your eternal soul," he repeated mockingly. When she still refused to bow, he said to the guards, "Force her. Now."

Tigress steeled herself, waiting. She had to fight them off long enough for Po and the others to come. That was the only way to be released from her bow.

As one of them approached her, she swung her fist around, knocking him off. Tearing the veil off the headdress, she growled at the others, who stepped back. "You keep your distance," she hissed. "I'll bow when _I'm _ready."

"Oh, don't be such cowards!" Kailí said, annoyed. "Force her! Now!"

"But sir-"

"NOW!"

The guards winced and advanced. Tigress raised her arms to fight-

"HEY!"

Everyone turned around to look at the intruder.

"You let her go!" Po yelled.

There was a moment of shocked silence, before all the back guards rushed forward without an order, knowing that they had to get rid of the panda.

And so the battle had begun.

Po back-fisted a boar in the mouth as Viper strangled another. Crane swooped in from overhead, attacking a wolf that was about to stab Monkey in the back. Mantis let out a loud cry and jumped onto a crocodile, hitting pressure points as he went.

Kailí watched the battle for a moment, stunned. "But how-?" He quickly reached bend him and checked his key ring, and then looked at Tigress. "You!" he snarled. "You tricked me!"

Tigress did a very un-Tigress-like thing: she winked.

And then she roundhouse kicked him in the jaw. "HYAH!"

Half a dozen guards were on her at once. Knocking one out, she used his falling back as a springboard and took out another, before tripping a third with her tail and kicking a fourth in the stomach.

Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound, and she felt something whiz just over her ear. An instant later, one of the nobles let out a loud cry of pain.

She whirled around, and saw the crowds gathered around a fallen wolf. All she could see were his gray back paws. She saw more holes punched into a nearby pillar.

Turning back around, she saw Kailí holding something that looked like a spear, only with a carved stone pipe on the end and a fuse coming out the back of the pipe.

"What?" the tiger said, smirking. "You didn't think I came without protection, did you?"

She knew instantly that unless she did something, innocent bandits (irony just loved her today) would be hurt.

There was one solution, and one solution only: Tigress took out the remaining two guards and attacked Kailí.

Across the hall, Po saw the felines begin to fight. As he watched, he saw Tigress try to kick Kailí, but was stopped by the other tiger's catch and nearly taken to the ground. Tigress caught him by the shoulders and flipped him over her head, but he landed on his feet and went after her turned back.

"Go!" Crane yelled, diving in and knocking out a boar that was about to hit Po over the head. "We'll take it from here; you have to help her!"

"Gotcha!" Po shouted, and, knocking two wolves down, raced up the aisle.

Tigress was losing ground fast. She blocked a punch, but was hit hard in the stomach by a second, making her gasp for air. In the instant that she was vulnerable, Kailí readied his weapon again, lighting it with a scrape of his claws against the stone.

"Sorry, kitten," he hissed. "But I can't have an unfaithful wife."

The weapon fired, but in the last instant, Po tackled the Bandit Lord. Stones drilled into the ceiling, and the weapon went skidding across the floor.

Po tried to punch Kailí in the face, but the Bandit Lord caught it. They struggled for a few moments, before Kailí kicked Po off.

The panda hit one of the pillars, but ended up on his feet.

Kailí smirked. "Hello, old friend. Welcome to the wedding; I'm so glad you could make it."

"Enough with the courtesy, Kailí," Po said, his face set in a determined scowl.

"Tsk, tsk, such rudeness. One would think you'd be nicer to the man with your precious Master Tigress in his paws-"

"Tigress is a better fighter than you'll ever be!" Po said angrily, as the others all came up beside him. "She's the best in China!"

"And yet you're the Dragon Warrior," Kailí said, chuckling. "However did that happen?"

"Simple, really," Tigress growled. "He's lying."

"Oh?" said the Bandit Lord.

"Yes. He's a much greater warrior than me, and I'm not too proud to admit it." She glanced to the left and met Po's emerald-green eyes. "_He's_ the best in China, not me."

"Really?" said Kailí with a smirk, looking at Po. "Care to bet on that?"

"You bet I do!" said Po. "I challenge you to a fight for Master Tigress."

"I accept," the Bandit Lord said. "As a matter of fact, I'll take on all six of you at once."

"Bring it!" Mantis shouted, but Po held up a paw.

"No, guys. This is between him and me." His eyes narrowed. "I've got a score to settle."

Kailí laughed haughtily. "Try me, panda. If you win, you and your friends can all leave, including Master Tigress. But if _I _win," His eyes flashed, "Then I will kill all of you and take her as my own." He looked over at the other five, smirked. "Just remember, it's an open invitation." He turned back to Po. "Are you ready?"

Po gave a short nod and raised his hands into a fighting pose. The fight was on.


	25. Scene 23 Advantage

Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

**A/N: I know, I know, long time no update. Sorry… :' (**

** Shouvin: Crap. You're totally right about the blood thing. I didn't even think about that; thanks for pointing it out. *Bangs head on a brick wall* I've got to make sure I reread all my chapters over before I post. I keep forgetting there are little kids that read this stuff, even if they're not on the site (ah, how I remember those days…)**

** I'll change that chapter, **_**BUT! THIS CHAPTER WILL HAVE A LITTLE BLOOD! WARNING TO EVERYONE!**_

** Energy drinks are the root of all evil! MWAHAHAHA!**

** DaisukiFox: I'm a little confused. What's this about wolves? The only wolves I've mentioned so far are the guards… I think you must mean Kailí. Sorry, fella, but he's a tiger, not a wolf. As for whether or not you believe Kailí to be realistic, well, I guess that's a matter of opinion. I personally like my villain. *shrugs* My only advice to you is this: don't like it, don't read it.**

** Deathstar: 1. Yeah, it's a gun. Well, more like the first model of a gun, which was the fire lance. 2. He's a South China Bengal Tiger. 3. Evil but very smart, and very devious. Think twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl, only with no empathy whatsoever, as well as knowing Kung Fu and having a gun.**

**Cell, Ten minutes previous.**

Shifu pulled back and hit the wall again.

He'd made good progress on the wall, but not enough to break it. Still, cracks were beginning to form around his strike point, to the amazement of Hao.

The grandmaster closed his eyes, letting his _chi_ build up, relaxing his mind and feeling the harmony of the universe.

He waited, knowing the moment would come.

"Uh, Grandmaster? What are you doing?" Hao wondered, hearing the shouts and hits stop.

Shifu suddenly let out a loud, harsh shout, and struck the wall with all the force he had.

There was a loud cracking sound, and suddenly, the wall caved in to the other cell.

"What was that?" Hao demanded.

Shifu turned, and saw for the first time the badger that had been his accompaniment for the past evening. "This is our way out," he said, gesturing to the cell, which had an open door that let in the light.

The badger blinked in the light. "I can't believe it," he said, stunned. "You actually broke through the walls. How…?"

Shifu grinned a little. "Anything is possible with Inner Peace," he said, quoting his Master (who had told him that on any number of occasions, much to the red panda's exasperation). "Now, if you'll assist me, we have a wedding to stop."

"I'll do anything to get out of here," the badger agreed, standing up. He stumbled slightly. "It appears I've been sitting far too long."

"Well, I hope you're ready to walk again, because we have a job to do," Shifu said. He stepped over the rubble and into the open cell, ready to cause a certain tiger some serious pain.

They ran through the tunnels, having no clue where they were going, through corridors and up levels of stairs. When they finally emerged into the blinding sunlight, they found themselves behind the alter in the Hall of Middle Harmony.

"How on earth did we get here?" Shifu wondered.

"I have no idea," Hao admitted. "I was knocked out when they brought me to my cell."

"Clever idea, to build the dungeons under a temple," the red panda commented. "Nobody would have suspected it."

"I can't see anything through these crowds," the badger said, frowning. People were gathered almost to the edge of the temple. "What do you think is going on?"

"If the layout of this place is the same as the Imperial City, then the next temple to the North is the Hall of Preserving Harmony, where the wedding is taking place," Shifu answered. "If we can get to the top of this temple, we'll be able to see better, and then we can plan our entrance."

"Whatever you say, Grandmaster."

Shifu looked around, and then quickly walked outside to the south entrance of the temple, where nobody was around. He pushed back his sleeves, and then quickly scampered up the nearest pillar.

When he got to the top, he saw Hao staring at him from the ground. "_How_ did you do that?" he said, surprised.

"I climbed," Shifu said simply.

"Yeah, I got that." He started to climb up, as well.

Shifu waited patiently for the badger (he couldn't climb as well as a red panda), and hauled him over the top when he was in reach.

They quickly ran to the other side of the temple roof, looking over the crowds into the taller temple. Shifu squinted through the sunlight, trying to figure out what was happening.

He saw two red-robed figures at the front of the temple. One- Kailí- bowed to the tablets of Heaven and Earth. As he watched, Tigress remained upright. "That's my girl," he murmured to himself. Some guards came forward to try to force her.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly yelled.

He looked closer to him on the ground. There, standing amidst the common bandits and thieves, was a panda, followed by a crane, a tree viper, a golden langur, and a tiny little green dot that had to be a praying mantis.

"You let her go!" Po shouted angrily.

Shifu blinked, surprised. Suddenly, all the guards at the back attacked.

"Let's go," he said to Hao.

"What? What are you going to do?"

"_I'm_ joining in. _You're _getting away from here. See if you can find some way to cross the Gobi desert; try to find your family. Best of luck." And with that, he jumped off the edge of the temple roof, hit the ground, rolled, and ran for the fight.

Hao rolled his eyes. "Old-timers." He walked to the edge, and then slid down one of the pillars.

Shifu knocked aside thieves, trying to get to the fight. He heard a few loud pops, far in front of him, but he didn't know what they were. Just as he reached the conflict, Viper yelled, "Master Shifu!"

"You're alive?" Mantis said, shocked, before he picked up a boar a hundred times his weight and threw him on the ground.

"You didn't think I'd miss my own daughter's wedding, did you?" he said, jumping up and snapping a wolf's neck with a well-placed chop. "Where's Po?"

"He went up to help Tigress!" Monkey answered, tripping a guard with his tail and stealing his sword, before using it as a throwing knife and hitting a guard that was about to cut down Crane.

There was another loud popping sound. "What is that?" Master Shifu demanded.

"Some sort of weapon the Bandit Lord has," said Viper, choking a boar.

"All of you, get up there!" he ordered. "I'll deal with the rest of these." As the others ran off, he eyed the rest of the guards, who were grin like children on Solstice.

"You're going down, old man," one of them, a wolf, said, bouncing his battleax up and down.

Shifu smirked. "Try me."

**With Po**

The two warriors eyed each other up, gold and green. Memories of spars with Tigress flashed through Po's mind, each gone within an instant, but leaving valuable information behind:

_"Do not attack first when you're fighting a tiger,"_ she'd told him. _"If he's smart, he'll wait for you, which gives you time to observe your opponent. Force him to attack."_

So he waited, watching and remembering everything he'd ever known about this friend-turned enemy. His pride. His ruthlessness. His tendency to go farther than necessary in an argument, seeking to not just win, but to absolutely destroy his opponent.

"What are you waiting for?" the tiger said, his golden eyes already confident, knowing he was more than capable of beating Po.

Po shrugged. Then, an idea came to him. "Hey, everyone knows I'm a coward. But they're all wondering _you're _waiting for."

The Bandit Lord glanced quickly around, and saw that the panda was right. "Very well," he said, his confidence immediately melting into cold anger. "Let's get this on with." He let out a bellowing roar.

Po froze, fear spearing into his heart and clouding his senses.

"Po, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Tigress shouted.

It was that sharp, biting order that woke him back up, just in time to sidestep as Kailí flew past.

The tiger stopped short, his movements that of a fluid, deadly sort of grace that could only belong to a cat. He turned, smirking. "Well, well," he sneered. "It seems you've learned a little since we last fought. Or at least, you've acquired an unseemly girlfriend to help you win."

"You're gonna pay for that!" Po yelled, raising his hands up.

"Po, he's baiting you," Tigress said, before he could intervene.

"He made fun of you!"

"Keep your head on straight and focus!" she coached. "We can't help you or he'll claim unfair advantage, so don't let him bait you into an attack!"

Kailí chuckled. "Smarter than she looks, isn't she?" Po's eyes flashed angrily. "However, I'm afraid I can't allow you to receive any more assistance, verbal or otherwise." He turned to the nearby guards. "You know what to do."

It didn't take half an instant before every guard addressed had his paws on the one of the Five, with various numbers on each. Mantis was being held by two, Viper, Crane, and Monkey by three, and Tigress had two on her harms, one around her stomach, and the last with a sword to her throat and his hand clamped tightly over her mouth.

"HEY!" Po yelled. "You said it was an open invitation!"

Kailí shrugged. "I lied." And with that, he attacked.

He was fast. Damn fast. Po felt rather than saw the punch right to his diaphragm by a well-aimed double-punch, sending him stumbling backwards, gasping for breath. "Alright," he muttered. "Let's go." He put his hands up into fighting stance, and whirled around, aiming a high spinning kick for the tiger's head. Kailí blocked this and tried to kick Po in the stomach, which he blocked in turn.

Another kick pushed Po back, forcing him to give up ground to do a back roll. He landed back up on his feet, but had to duck in time to avoid a flying spinning kick. As the tiger landed, he knife-handed* him in the back- or tried to anyway. Kailí blocked and flipped him onto his back.

Po landed, hit the ground with his palm like he'd been taught, and brought it back up to protect his temple. This saved him, as an orange-and-black fist had been aiming for that very spot. Blocking, he grabbed the arm as it came down and used the momentum to throw Kailí to the ground as well, giving him the time to get back up.

The tiger flipped to his feet, both warriors on either side of the circle, face-to-face. Kailí had the advantage in strength, precision, and experience, but Po knew how a tiger fought, whereas his opponent knew nothing of 'panda style.' They were an even match.

Suddenly, the Bandit Lord smirked, and charged Po. Surprised, the panda got out of the way, whirling around at the same time, so as to be able to catch the tiger off guard.

But Kailí had turned the tables, and ran up the post right behind Po, flipping into the air. The panda's mouth dropped as he recognized Tigress' 'Tahlia Leap.' He'd only ever defended successfully against that once, but he remembered how he'd done it and, as the tiger flipped over backwards through the air, he whirled around and aimed a chest-level kick at the tiger's landing spot.

He hit him just at the right spot, sending him backwards into a pillar.

"How did you do that?" Kailí demanded. "No one's ever defended against that before."

"What, the Tahila Leap?" Po said, surprised. "Tigress uses that one all the time. Usually kicks my butt, too."

"Tahlia Leap? That's the Ying Leap; I invented it myself."

Po suddenly realized what had happened. "Dude, I hate to break it to you… but Master Oogway came up with that one like, a hundred years ago. Those bandit dudes that taught you probably let you think you invented it first. Y'know, to be nice?"

Everyone went dead quiet. The people cheering on their beloved Bandit Lord suddenly fell silent.

Kailí looked around, his eyes wide with anger and, surprisingly, fear. "Preposterous!" he snapped. "You're trying to distract me, panda, and I won't fall for it."

_Pride._ Po remembered that Shifu had once taught him every warrior had his weakness, and this was the Bandit Lord's. "Yeah, maybe," Po agreed. "But _they_ might." He jerked his thumb towards the audience.

Kailí's eyes narrowed, and hissing with rage, he attacked again, lunging for Po. The panda dodged out of the way, but not before he felt a strip of fire singe his flesh. Glancing down, he realized it wasn't fire, but a single claw mark that had caught his side. A few tiny drops of ruby blood bloomed from the laceration.

The tiger had unsheathed his claws.

This realization brought a whole new level of intensity to the situation: on one hand, it meant that Kailí was actually considering Po an opponent. On the other, it meant that any of his strikes from here on out could be lethal.

Kailí was facing him again, his cocky smirk back once more. "You see, Po," he said, his tail flicking back and forth casually, "I've been going easy on you. But now, now it looks like I might actually have to hurt you."

"Same here."

"Oh, please," he snorted. "Why don't you tell your precious friends the truth? I kicked your sorry tail fifteen years ago, remember?"

"They already know," Po answered. "Unlike you, I'm honest with people." He looked him dead in his golden eyes. "But I've learned a lot since then. So come on, buddy! Bring it on!"

His opponent chuckled. "As you want it." Fast as lightning, he leapt into the air, spinning-kicking Po in the head, before landing again and repeating the move, this time striking him twice in the belly.

On the fourth hit, Po managed to block it and punch him in the chest, before kicking his leg out from under him. Kailí rolled forward towards the panda, forcing Po to jump over him and go into a dive roll, as well.

They ended up on opposite sides of the circle, backs facing each other. Each whirled around. Po felt his _chi_ building up, preparing him for the strike.

He attacked first this time, aiming a front kick at the Bandit Lord's torso, which was blocked and grabbed, flipping him over onto his stomach. Po rolled to the side as Kailí tried to pin him to the ground, stumbling to his feet.

It was the perfect moment, one he couldn't miss. He lifted one arm into a hammer fist and brought it crashing down, about to strike Kailí's head and knock him unconscious.

At that moment, Kailí whirled himself around, grabbing his weapon off the ground and firing it directly at Po.

There was an exploding pain in Po's right leg, and the world flashed red and black as he fell to the ground.

***Karate chopped.**


	26. Chapter 26 The Final Battle

Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this.

** DaisukiFox: "Just as I expected." LOL, I loved Scooby Doo when I was a kid! Velma was so BA with her smart-girl sass… Though now that I think of it, she always said 'suspected' instead of 'expected." Huh… Oh well. BTW, could you clean up your sentence structure a bit on that review? I've got no problem taking constructive criticism, but I can't really do that if I don't know what you're saying… And nope, not a bummer at all! Thanks for worrying about me, though! ; )**

** Everyone who asked: The Tahlia Leap is what Tigress uses when she's fighting Tai Lung on the bridge and when she's stringing the lanterns in the Holiday Special. **

**Temple of Preserving Harmony**

Po felt his head crack hard against the marble of the floor, but it was a dim realization, blotted out by the burning, red-and-white-and-black pain that consumed him, rooted in his leg and branching out to every nerve ending in his body like hellfire.

He heard, dimly, shouting to his right. He managed to look over, and saw Tigress struggling against the guards, to no avail.

"PO!" she screamed. "PO!"

Kailí stumbled up and, upon getting his bearings, chuckled. "You see?" he said to Po. "You couldn't beat me. You never even had a chance."

Po tried to answer, but all that came out was a small whimper.

Kailí turned to the crowds. "Do you see this?" he shouted, so the entire assembly could hear. "I have destroyed the mighty Dragon Warrior! He lays here at my feet! He is nothing special; he is an utter nobody! He is _worthless!_" He paused, to let these words sink in. "And now, now I will take his life and his title as my own!"

Po tried to listen, but his hearing was blurring in and out. He was going to pass out; he knew it. Then, suddenly, something caught his attention.

Tigress had managed to break free of the guards. She ran forward and fell to her knees in front of him, frantically trying to find something to bandage the wound with. When she found nothing, she tore off the bottom of the wedding dress and tried to use the silk to tie off his leg.

Po reached up with one hand, trying to touch her shoulder. "Go," he mumbled, trying to tell her that there was nothing she could do. His arm was to heavy, and he let it drop.

But suddenly, something caught it.

Tigress' paw gripped his tightly, holding it in the air. "I'm not leaving," she answered.

"Tigress… he'll kill… you…"

"He'll kill me soon anyway. At least we'll die together."

The Bandit Lord finished his speech and turned around. He blinked, surprised, and then burst out laughing. The entire audience did the same.

"You fool!" he said, between guffaws. "You stupid girl, you'd condemn yourself as well as him?"

"I'd rather die here by his side than in a few hours without him," she answered, her voice loud enough for all to hear.

"Well. As you wish," Kailí said, chuckling. He relit the fire lance and took aim. Tigress turned away, and Po closed his eyes.

"Two lovebirds," the tiger said, his eyes glinting with malice, "With the same stone."

The sound of a gunshot split the air, but at that exact moment, another sound rang throughout the hall: the sound of shattering stone and breaking wood, as Grandmaster Shifu destroyed the weapon a nanosecond after it fired, as well as the shout of a sharp cry. The three mixed together made the walls of the hall shake, before the echoes faded away.

There was a long, shocked silence before Kailí said, "Well, well, Shifu. So you actually broke out. I must admit, I'm surprised; that's quite a feat for an old man like yourself."

"Yes, fifty-eight years old, and I still managed to defeat every one of your guards."

"Not every one," Kailí said, and snapped his fingers.

Instantly, over three-dozen new guards were surrounding Shifu. The red panda's eyes narrowed.

"You have two options," Kailí said. "Either surrender to my friends here, or die. Fighting is futile; even you cannot beat forty highly-trained guards."

Shifu assessed the situation, and found that there was nothing he could do. He slowly dropped his hands from fighting position, and a second later, he was being held by three guards, with three more holding spears at his throat.

Everyone turned back to the situation at hand, and were stunned to see what had happened. You see, most of the people in the congregation had expected that the stones from the weapon had missed, due to the disturbance in the firing. Unfortunately, they were also all incorrect.

Tigress gasped for air, struggling against the pain that caught her breath in her throat and clutching her shoulder, blood slowly soaking out from under her paw and into her scarlet wedding robes like some sort of horrible metaphor. She was lying on the ground, beside Po, and choked, strangled noises were escaping her mouth with every breath, despite her trying not to make a sound. Po knew without a doubt that, had she not been there, that stone would've hit him in the chest. It would've killed him.

The Bandit Lord was the first to recover from the shock. "You see?" Kailí said, turning to the crowds once again. "She is easily defeated by emotion, as are all the weak. As was the 'Dragon Warrior.' Pathetic."

Po looked at him for a moment, and then looked over to Tigress. She was still gripping his hand with her free paw, but now it was with desperation, as if clinging to dear life.

"Oh man…" he whispered. The wound was very, very bad; it was bleeding worse than his.

Tigress looked up at him. There was pain in those ruby eyes, both physical and emotional. That look spoke volumes: it said clearly that she thought she'd failed to protect him. To save him.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered. Then, her face contorted and her eyes shut against a fresh wave of pain, and she let out a cracked, agonized moan.

That was what steeled him. He wasn't letting Kailí get away with this. He wasn't going to let him hurt the people he cared about again!

He gave her hand one last squeeze, and then let go. Kailí was still talking, but Po wasn't listening. Slowly, he forced himself to move his good leg and arms, pushing himself up despite his bad leg's gut-twisting screams of protest. He managed to get to one foot, and said, to get the tiger's attention, "Hey."

Kailí stopped speaking and turned around. Shock appeared on his face as his mind registered the sight in front of him. "But how-"

"You can kill me," Po said. "That's okay. But you know what's not okay? When you hurt my friends.

"You crossed the line, Kailí. You messed with the Five, you messed with my master, and you messed with the woman I love." His gaze flicked back to Tigress for a moment, and it was evident from his face that he wished he could go straight to her and try to help. Then once again, he turned to Kailí. "You say it's weak to love? Well, then I'm the weakest guy you'll ever meet, because I care about these people. They're my family." His eyes narrowed. "You messed with my family, and you know what? _You messed with the wrong panda._"

The tiger looked at him for a moment, wide-eyed and mouthed with astonishment. Then, he laughed. "You would rather die the hard way? Well, then, Po, _be my guest_." He put his hands up into fighting pose. Po, one leg limp and the other supporting him, did the same.

The panda closed his eyes for a moment, calming his mind and soul and finding his unity with the universe. He opened his eyes again, his chin set determinedly, ready for the fight.

Kailí attacked first again, lunging at his throat. Po blocked him and sent him backwards with a punch, still managing to balance on his one good leg.

The tiger attacked again, this time aiming to sweep his good leg. Po dodged out of the way, stepping on his bad leg for a moment. "Ooh-hoo! Ouch! Bad idea!"

Kailí whirled around again and tried to kick him in the stomach. Po blocked and aimed a punch at his nose. This was blocked in turn, and a series of blocks/strikes followed, before Po hit him in the eye and stomach with a double punch.

As the tiger was reeling backwards, Po saw the wooden staff from the fire lance beside him and swept it up. As the tiger came at it again, he blocked his back-fist and hit him in the chest. Whirling it around so it faced upright, he hit Kailí three times in the head. _Whack! Whack! Whack!_

On the third _Whack, _the tiger grabbed ahold of the makeshift staff and forced it backwards, pushing Po down onto his back. He dove down, going for the strangle.

Po yelped, and kicked his good foot up, throwing the feline backwards.

Kailí rolled and landed on his feet, but Po had managed to get back up by then and was ready, his hands up and putting all his weight on his good leg.

"Are you really ready to die for those people you call a family?" Kailí sneered.

"Absolutely," Po said, without a moment's hesitation. He glanced at the others for an instant, and saw five worried faces. The sixth was looking at him with barely focused eyes, but in that split second, Tigress gave the smallest nod.

He turned back to Kailí. "So come on! I'm crippled and I'm still holding my own! What, is the big, strong tiger just a little kitty inside?"

He was hoping the taunting would provoke him, and he was right. The Bandit Lord snarled and charged. Po hopped out of the way like he'd planned, but Kailí had been expecting this, and stopped short, grabbing Po by the arm and flipping him over into the air. He spinning-kicked him into the ground, then dropped to a knee and nailed Po one right in the nose, before striking him hard in the diaphragm, and lastly going for the temple.

Po managed to block this strike and hit back, punching him in the jaw. The tiger recoiled, which gave Po the time to get up.

Or so he thought. At the moment he finally pushed himself up onto his feet, Kailí scissor-kicked him in the head, knocking him back down.

The panda let out groan and tried to get back up, but he was kicked again, this time in the side. Another kick followed to his hip, and then his bad leg.

He let out a sharp, piercing cry at the pain, as lightning electrocuted his senses, traveling from the tormented wound up through ever nerve ending in his body.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it, old friend?" the tiger sneered, kicking him again and again.

And it was. For a moment, Po was lying on the stone road, begging the tiger to please, please stop hitting him, that he thought he was his friend-

"And after you're gone," Kailí hissed, "Your little girlfriend is next." He kicked him again.

A fire suddenly flamed hot in Po's chest; a burning, white-hot determination that was stronger than anything he'd ever felt before. _No. Not Tigress._

With a strength he didn't know he had, he jerked his bad leg into the air and, despite the agony that made him scream at the effort, kicked Kailí as hard as he could.

The tiger flew back into the nearest pillar and hit it, _hard, _before falling to the ground. Po struggled to get air into his aching lungs, and, despite the pain, managed to get himself into first a sit, then a kneel, and finally a stand.

He hobbled over to the tiger, who was struggling to get up. He managed to get to his back paws, disoriented. "How- how did you-?"

"You never got it, did you?" Po asked. "Kailí, when you really care about someone, when you love them… you will do _anything_ to keep them safe." He looked over at the others, then back again. "Anything."

Kailí looked around desperately, stunned and confused. "No," he muttered. "No."

"It's alright; I know it's a little hard to understand-"

"No. It doesn't make sense. You couldn't have beaten me. I refuse to believe it. I refuse!" he snarled angrily, and attacked again.

"Whoa!" Po tried to stumble out of the way, but Kailí grabbed onto him, tackling him and taking him to the ground.

WHAM! They slammed into one of the altars, then another. The second knocked the third over, which fell onto Kailí.

The heavy stone crushed the tiger's legs, pinning him. Po tried to scramble away, but Kailí caught him by his bad leg. He twisted around, trying to shake him off, but it didn't work.

"Let- me- go!" he yelled, trying to break the tiger's arm.

"Not on your life, panda," the Bandit Lord said, laughing insanely. "If I'm dying, then I swear by all the gods I'll take you with me!"

"What are you-" Then, the realization hit him like a load of bricks:

One of the incense burners from the altars had been tossed high into the air, before dashing upon the ground and shattering. The wick, which had been lit, had hit some of the powder from the fire lance, which had gone everywhere when Shifu had broken it. One grain of powder lit another, which lit another, leading along a trail that started off slow, but grew bigger and wider, ending in a pile of powder…

Which they were directly on top of.

"EVERYONE, RUN!" Po yelled, knowing they had only a minute, if that. "RUN! RUN!"

More cries of "Run! Hurry!" joined his, and within moments, a mass exodus was headed for any escape possible.

"Kailí, let go of me!" Po yelled desperately. "If you do, I can get this off you!"

"As if I'd believe that!" the tiger snarled. "You'll run for yourself and leave me behind!"

"I swear, I won't!"

"LIAR!" the tiger screamed, his voice echoing in the empty hall. "YOU'LL LEAVE ME! YOU'LL ABANDON ME, JUST LIKE MY PARENTS DID! THIS IS PAYBACK! PAYBACK FOR HAVING A FAMILY THAT CARES, PAYBACK FOR BEING LOVED!"

Po stared at him in shock, and for a moment, he felt like crying. "Kailí_, I_ cared! I was your best friend!"

"No! You had everything! You still have everything. You have a father, people who care about you! I lost _everyone_, and you still had a family! You have more than I ever had, and now YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!"

The fire was getting closer. They had moments, seconds. Their time was up; only one could survive now.

"I'm sorry, Kailí," Po said, and broke the tiger's arm, releasing his grip on his leg.

He scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could, his bad leg dragging behind him. Then, behind him, a loud BOOM! erupted as the powder exploded, knocking him off his feet.

He covered his head mid-air and rolled as he hit the ground. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw that he was outside, dust and debris lying everywhere and a crowd of stunned bandits all around him.

He stumbled to his feet and looked around, dazed. Suddenly, an orange-and-black figure ran to him.

He didn't think. He didn't plan it. What he did was take Master Tigress by the arms and, in front of everyone, kiss her.

The kiss was sweet and chaste, yet still holding the passion of two people who'd just narrowly escaped death. When they finally broke apart, there was a stunned sort of silence that neither paid attention to. "You did it," Tigress said softly.

He shook his head, grinned. "We did it."

Her bruised, bloody face split into a grin, and Po thought she'd never looked more beautiful. Then suddenly, she frowned, confused, and looked down at her shoulder. Seeing the blood that soaked the front half of her wedding robes, gave him a small ironic smirk, before her eyes dropped closed, and she stumbled forward, falling into his arms.

"Tigress!" Po said, shocked. He held her up, and tried to say, 'Help! Somebody, help me!' But his voice wasn't working.

All around him, the world began to grow dim. Suddenly, the earth seemed to tip on its side, and he fell to the ground, as everything went black…


	27. Scene 24 The End

Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. I make no money off of this. I also don't own Soul Surfer, in case I'm accidentally quoting that somewhere…

**A/N: This story is dedicated to three main people: A113 Cowgirl, Alicehatter239, and the teacher out there that likes my work. That's… seriously awesome! You rock, teacher lady! Also, this is lastly dedicated to all of my readers; THANK YOU SO MUCH! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!**

****_"[Love] is to will the good of another." - St. Thomas Aquinas_

**Time and Location, Unknown**

Po mumbled something and opened his eyes. He was facing the ceiling, which was plain wood, decorated with chinks of light from the windows.

He looked to his right and almost jumped out of bed, startled.

"You should be more observant," Shifu instructed. "What if I had been an assassin?"

"Master Shifu!" Po said, shocked. "You're alive!"

"Of course I'm alive," he said, a little grumpily. "You would be dead right now without me, or don't you remember?"

"Oh. Yeah. I guess I was a little bit, uh, distracted right then," Po said.

"I can't say I blame you. You were in a lot of pain."

"Right…" He trailed off, remembering the fight. The kiss. The blackout-

Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide open in fear, and he tried to sit up, but found that he couldn't (his leg sent a sharp pain up his spine). "Oh gods, is Tigress okay? Where are the others? Where am _I?_ Oh man, they're all dead, aren't th-"

"Panda, calm down!" Shifu said sharply, cutting him off before he could go into hysterics. "You're in a healer's house in the town, the others are helping some of the villagers, and Tigress is _fine._ See?" He pointed to the other side of Po.

The panda turned to his left and felt relief flood his body upon the sight that met him. Master Tigress was asleep on the bed next to him, the bottom half of her covered with a coarse red blanket. Her vest had been removed, and white bandages covered her entire upper torso. Po couldn't tell if they went lower, because that was where the blanket started. The bandages were wrapped most heavily on her injured shoulder, especially where the stone had hit.

"Both of you are very lucky," Master Shifu said from behind him. "It's a miracle we didn't have to amputate either of your limbs. It'll take almost half a year of healing for you and four months for her before both of you are back on your feet, as it is."

"Thank the gods…" Po said, his voice hoarse with emotion. "I thought she'd…" He didn't have to finish the sentence for the Grandmaster to know how thankful the panda was that she was even alive.

There was a moment's silence, before Shifu coughed slightly. "Both of you will be staying here for at least a few weeks, before we head back by boat- there is a passage through the desert by river-, and the others will be staying with you during the night to make sure things don't get," he coughed again, "Out of hand."

Po went a brilliant shade of red and rolled back over, looking at the older panda. "Oh," he said, wincing.

"Oh," Shifu agreed.

"So, um, you saw the whole thing at the end there? Where I, you know, kissed her? And before, when I said I-"

"That you loved her. Yes."

Awkward silence.

"As I said, the others will be rooming with you during the evenings."

Po winced again. "Master Shifu, I swear, I would _never-_"

"I know. I trust in your integrity; if I didn't, you would have a lot more to heal from than a shattered femur. I can't say that I fully _approve_ of your relationship-"

Po full on cringed this time. _Here it comes…_

"-But I wouldn't trust any other man with my daughter."

The panda blinked, surprised. "You mean, you're not going to kill me? I can date Tigress, and you won't try to hurt me?"

"Hm. So long as you give her the respect she deserves. But be warned, panda-" And, before Po could react, Shifu had caught his hand in a Wuxi Finger Hold, "If you so much as think about hurting her, if you get even the tiniest _inkling_ of causing her any form of pain, I don't care how far you run, I will hunt you down and show you agony the likes of which that wound in your leg will pale in comparison. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal!" Po whimpered, thinking that he'd rather face Kailí down again than go head-to-head with Master Shifu, should the red panda ever feel he wasn't treating Tigress well.

"Good." He let go and sat back down on the stool beside Po's bed.

Po hesitated a moment, and then said, "Master Shifu?"

"Yes?"

"'Daughter'?"

Now, it was the red panda's turn to wince and turn away, looking at the floor. "If," he said quietly, "she allows it," It struck Po how old he seemed: eons beyond his fifty-eight years. "I know I have no right, but… I'd like to make things right between us, before it's too late."

Both of them looked over at Tigress. At that very moment, her eyes fluttered open, likely awoken from their talking.

Shifu was instantly at her side (how he got there, Po had no idea). "How are you feeling?" he said, concerned.

"Mm." She gave him a grim smile. "Been better."

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, you understand me?" Shifu said seriously.

"Master, I don't-"

"Tigress." There was something about his tone that cut her off. "I've already lost one child… don't make me lose another."

Her mouth opened slightly in surprise, as did her eyes.

Then, quite suddenly, both of them were hugging each other as tight as the could. "I won't, I promise… father," Tigress said, her voice choked.

They broke apart, rather red in the face at this gushy show of emotion. Both looked anywhere but at Po, the only spectator, who was grinning like a kiddie on Winter Festival.

"You know, I'd yell 'group hug!' right now, but I don't think I can get out of this bed," Po joked.

"Quite frankly, that's music to my ears," Shifu said. "I think the two of you remaining right where you are for a few weeks will give you plenty of time to _talk._"

Tigress and Po both went matching shades of red. "I assume you and he already discussed the… boundaries… of this, then?" the feline said, trying to keep the situation as normal as she could.

"Yes, and I made it quite clear what I would do to him if I didn't like where your relationship goes. That goes for you as well, Tigress," he said sternly. "Understood?"

"Entirely, Father."

"Good. Now, I think I'll leave the two of you to yourselves." To both of their surprise, he smiled a little, and said, "Oh, by the way, Po: when we get back, could you tell your dad he owes me a week's worth of free lunches?"

Po blinked. "Um, I guess. Why?"

"He and I had a bet going, you see. He said it would take you a year to confess your feelings to Tigress. I had my money of nine months. It seems you proved both of us wrong by two." And with that, he left.

The two young warriors didn't say anything for a few moments. There was one word, and one word only, to describe their situation.

"Awkward, huh?" Po said finally.

She sighed. "I really don't understand us."

"I know. I mean, I've got no problem kissing you in front of a lot of people that probably want to kill me, but now that we're alone…"

She agreed with a simple nod of her head. Silence prevailed once again.

After a while, Po said, "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Well, yeah, but I meant another something." He hesitated, and then said, "I just want to know… why me? I mean, I know when and how you started to like me, but I still don't know why."

"Why you? I suppose I could ask you the same question." She shifted slightly, and then said, "Ever since I met you, I've had this odd feeling… I rejected it at first, because I didn't understand it, but I was a coward for doing so." She looked over at him, and he was stunned to see that her eyes seemed almost to be burning, like hot embers. "Po when I'm with you… I feel that I'm finally at peace. That I'm home. And I want to be able to give that back to you." She looked away again, embarrassed by what she considered to be a sappy show of emotion. After a moment, she said grudgingly, "So. What's your answer?"

He shrugged. "I… I don't know, exactly. It's hard to put into words. But I know that whenever I'm around you, I feel like- like I can do anything, so long as you're there with me, you know? Like I could really change the world, if I knew you would be by my side."

Tigress was deeply touched, and for her, that was hard to do. "Thank you, Po," she said softly. "That's… the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me before."

"I meant every word of it, you know," he said, as if wanting to impress upon her exactly how much he cared for her.

"So did I." She paused, and then said, "Who would've thought it would be us? The Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress."

"I always sort of hoped, but I never thought it would actually happen," Po confessed. "And then, when I actually got to meet you…"

She winced. "Po- I'm sor-"

"It's fine, Tigress, don't worry about it. I mean, we're past all that."

"Are you sure?" she said doubtfully. "After all, I treated you like dirt. I'd be furious, if I were you, and I'd deserve it, too." She looked away, ashamed.

Suddenly, he stretched out his hand.

Tigress looked at him, surprised. She reached out her paw as well, and he took his in hers.

"I really care about you, Tigress," said Po seriously. And there is _nothing_ in this world that can change that, okay? No argument, no battle, no villain or injury or any other problem. Nothing."

"Nothing," she agreed. "I-" She stopped, hesitated, as if she was still unsure. Then, her voice growing stronger, she said, "I love you, Po."

To another man, this might have sounded corny or even unimportant, like how some people threw these words around with so little care, but Po know how much courage it took her to say that. For a woman who had been hurt so much it was almost too late for her to heal, she was making herself extremely vulnerable. She was trusting him completely with the most fragile part of her: her heart.

He knew the answer, and when he said it, he meant it with every fiber of his being. "I love you too. And I want you to be happy."

A hint of a smile curved her lips. "I already am."

As emerald met ruby, that smile soon spread to his face, growing wider on both until they were both radiating the happiness they felt inside, the absolute joy of true, authentic love.

**One Year Later**

They bowed to the tablets of Heaven and Earth, Kung-Fu style, and then to Master Shifu and Mr. Ping. The old goose was trying to hold back tears, whereas Master Shifu was attempting not to smile. Both were failing miserably.

Finally, at last, they turned to each other. Their eyes met, locked. Both put their fists into their palms and bowed in respect and dedication to each other, forging their unfailing and eternal vow.

They rose from the bow, both Po and Tigress smiling. As cheers erupted around them, they pulled each other into a tight embrace, knowing that despite the trials they would face in years to come, they would face them together, their love an undying, unbeatable, indestructible bond that could never broken.

As they welcomed eternity, an eternity with them _together,_ the world seemed full of possibilities, and the sky was a dazzling shade of blue.

_The End_


End file.
